Orlando Magic are rebounding well, but not well enough

The Orlando Magic are one of the best rebounding teams in the league. But their defense is slipping and small changes on the glass are partly to blame.

There are several basic tenets to coach Steve Clifford’s vision for this Orlando Magic team.

When he says the things the team has to do to win basketball games he is referring to these basic principles. Moving and sharing the ball on offense. Getting paint touches and drives into the lane to collapse the defense. Individual defense with precise positioning and help behind them. Contesting and chasing players off the 3-point shot.

But most importantly for the defense, the team has to rebound. Securing boards and holding opponents to one shot has been the central tenet to the Magic’s defensive success. When they are set and can rally their defense together, they can be a devastating team.

The Magic’s biggest weaknesses in defense are in transition when they have to communicate switches and pick up players as they come down the court. The other area of weakness is when the team has to scramble on second-chance opportunities.

Orlando has struggled with its transition defense throughout the year — especially as the team’s offense has swung up and down. Rebounding and preventing offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities have been a solid constant all year. The Magic are one of the elite teams in that area.

Among the team’s struggles since the All-Star Break though has been on the glass. One way or another, the Magic are not grabbing rebounds with the same proficiency. Or at least not with the same elite proficiency that has become necessary for the team to win.

These are not major changes to the Magic’s rebounding, but those little changes are enough to knock the team slightly off balance.

"“It hasn’t been as good,” Clifford said. “That’s one of the other things we talked about. It was a big part of the game in Indiana where there were a lot of parts to the fourth quarter. Terrence [Ross] had 16 and Evan [Fournier] had a big shot. Jonathan Isaac had three offensive rebounds in that third quarter for five points. When we’re really good, we rebound the ball well at both ends.”"

The game against the Indiana Pacers was the Orlando Magic’s best rebounding game since the All-Star Break. They had an 86.1 percent defensive rebound rate. That game was also the Magic’s worst defensive game of this stretch — 119.1 defensive rating — but the rebounding enabled the Magic to stay in the game and pull away in the fourth quarter.

Rebounding can help the Magic overcome their defensive shortcomings. Especially when they rebound at that kind of elite level. This is how it has been all year.

The team’s elite skill

For the season, the Magic are fourth in the league in defensive rebound rate. They grab 74.9 percent of available defensive rebounds. Essentially three of every four misses is a Magic rebound defensively. That is a strong number.

The Magic lead the league in giving up the fewest second-chance points in the league. Opponents score just 10.9 second-chance points per game against Orlando this season.

The team’s 25.0 percent offensive rebound rate is 25th in the league. But the Magic prefer to get back on defense and set their defense up rather than attack the glass. Getting more offensive rebounds has been a focus for the team previously as they have gained more defensive confidence. But Clifford’s teams historically attack the glass selectively.

Since the All-Star Break, the Magic are still rebounding effectively but there is something behind the numbers.

In the last seven games, Orlando is grabbing 77.5 percent of available defensive rebounds. That is the highest defensive rebound rate in the league since the All-Star Break.

That part is extremely encouraging for the team. That is the bedrock of their defense. They are giving up just 10.4 second-chance points per game, the third fewest in the league in that time.

Overall, the Magic’s defense has been good since the All-Star Break, eighth in the league giving up 108.0 points per 100 possessions. But it has not been good enough and rebounding is at least part of the story. And the team senses that some.

"“Obviously we are not as good as we were right before the break,” Nikola Vucevic said. “But it’s something we can take care of. Just have a little more focus on the defensive end to box out guys and make sure everybody has a guy and we rebound as a team. And also on the offensive end to have a good mix of crashing the glass and not giving up fast-break points, because that has been one of our weaknesses. Just make sure we take care of those.”"

The Magic have had some bad rebounding games since the All-Star Break. Both coming in their most crushing and frustrating losses.

Orlando had a lowly 69.2 percent defensive rebound rate in the loss to the New York Knicks. The work Mitchell Robinson did on the glass really changed that game and the Magic struggled to recover on the glass.

The Magic grabbed 73.5 percent of defensive rebound opportunities in the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is the second-lowest mark since the All-Star Break.

It is clear to see how vital it is for the Magic to limit teams to one possession and prevent second-chance opportunities. There may not be a direct correlation between defensive rebound rate and defensive rating, but it is still a big boost for the team.

Orlando certainly depends on locking down the boards.

A subtle distinction

The change for the team since the All-Star Break is a subtle one statistically. The team is still a very good rebounding team. But, of course, it has to get stops to get rebounds in the first place. And so that subtle change can mean a big difference.

"“The level of physicality needs to be picked back up, especially if we want to play past April,” Aaron Gordon said. “You’ve got to be physical and so that’s what we will look to do.”"

The Magic can certainly right the ship. They are not far off from where they need to be on the glass. Getting there could help set the team back in the right direction defensively playing at a high level.

Some timely offensive rebounds too could provide the boost the offense needs to.

Orlando has relied heavily on this defensive rebounding piece as part of their defensive surge into the top 10 in the league. Seeing those numbers slip even just a little has brought up some concern, even if the change is slight and the Magic are still elite in that area.

This is something the team must stay vigilant with and maintain if they want to make their push forward.