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Orlando Magic Playbook: Protecting the middle is key to Orlando Magic’s defense

By Philip Rossman-Reich

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 12: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards dribbles past Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic during the second half at Capital One Arena on November 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 12: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards dribbles past Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic during the second half at Capital One Arena on November 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Khem Birch, Orlando Magic, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
ORLANDO, FL – FEBRUARY 28: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket over Khem Birch #24 of the Orlando Magic during the game at the Amway Center on February 28, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The Magic defeated the Warriors 103 to 96. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

The strong-side zone

What became revolutionary about the Boston Celtics in their 2008-10 title runs was Tom Thibodeau’s use of zone principles to flood the strong side and eliminate half the floor. He tried to have his teams isolate teams on one side of the floor and then flood that area with bodies.

It takes a ton of discipline to run. Players have to be scrambling to help and it leaves usually one player on the weak side guarding two players. The league has started to see that defense lose favor with how good shooters are in the league now and how easy it is for elite players to find their way to the middle, rendering it ineffective.

Orlando has had some success doing this because of the team’s investment in length and athleticism. You can see why the team has targeted this type of player in the draft. Having length and athleticism helps decrease the margin for error and gives those players a chance to recover.

First, look at how the Orlando Magic employ this zone defense:

D.J. Augustin forces Delon Wright to the corner. Again, Khem Birch is able to push up the floor a bit more and force him further to the corner. Augustin and Birch employ a soft trap.

Terrence Ross drops in to guard the roll man in Ivan Rabb and everyone else falls into a zone. Albeit imperfectly here.

That leaves Julian Washburn open for three. But with the cross-court pass, Ross is able to recover and get a good contest on. The Magic did not fall perfectly into the zone despite solid defense on the initial pick and roll action.

This strategy does have its drawbacks. It leaves that corner three on the weakside open. To cover that takes a ton of hustle for the weakside defender to get from digging into the paint all the way there.

This play illustrates the perfect set up for the Magic and how much work they have to do when a team is able to loft a pass there.

Initially, Orlando forces Dion Waiters toward the corner on the pick and roll. Nikola Vucevic is able to step up and provide a soft trap to slow the play down. From there, the Magic’s players take their spots in the zone. Jonathan Isaac has gone from the weakside corner to the strongside block with Aaron Gordon dropping into zone coverage.

Gordon actually makes a small mistake here. He stays with his man — Derrick Jones Jr. — leaving Kelly Olynyk open. Jonathan Isaac is able to cover the ground and runs from the strong side to the weak side in time to contest Kelly Olynyk’s three even with a nice pass from Josh Richardson at the top of the key.

To be sure, the communication here could have been better. Gordon probably should have stayed to cover the 3-point shooter and told Isaac to pick up and cut off Jones as a cutter.

But this is still a difficult pass and play. The time it takes to make that reversal still affords the Magic enough time to recover. They have the ability to do so.