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Orlando Magic’s playoff run exposed weaknesses the team has not answered

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic's struggles in the playoffs exposed key weaknesses that the team still has to face. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
The Orlando Magic's struggles in the playoffs exposed key weaknesses that the team still has to face. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard proved himself a superstar in breaking down the Orlando Magic. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

Rising up on defense

The poor offense hurt the team’s defense a lot too.

The Orlando Magic gave up 111.5 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. That was in part thanks to their unusually high 16.3 percent turnover rate. Only the Philadelphia 76ers were worse in the postseason. And the Sixers also faced off against the Raptors.

But nothing killed the Magic’s defense quite like the star power the Magic clearly lacked on offense. While Nikola Vucevic — or anyone else, for that matter — was unable to raise his game to another level, Kawhi Leonard certainly was.

Even with Aaron Gordon’s best defensive efforts, Kawhi Leonard torched the Magic to the tune of 27.8 points per game on a 63.3 percent effective field goal percentage.

A lot of Orlando’s regular-season success against Toronto came from Jonathan Isaac shutting out Pascal Siakam. That certainly did not happen in the series as Siakam busted out for 22.6 points per game on a 57.7 percent effective field goal percentage.

The Magic definitely did some things to bother them and made them work for a lot of those points. Those players earned those points. But coach Nick Nurse also figure out ways to get them open and they made plays to break down the defense.

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The Magic’s 111.5 defensive rating would have ranked 22nd in the regular season. That is not good, but hardly a disaster. It was the defensive rating taken with the anemic offense that turned the series into a rout.

As coach Steve Clifford said throughout the series, he hoped his team was going to make it more of a series. And the team’s inconsistent defensive effort hurt that effort.

The Magic can still count themselves a strong defensive team. Taking out the blowout loss in Game 5, Orlando gave up a more respectable but still not good 110.6 points per 100 possessions. But they are still a team that has to improve.

In the playoffs, matchups matter more than consistency with rotations. And the Raptors were able to pound the Magic inside and use their physicality to upend the Magic. Especially at the end of games when Terrence Ross played for Jonathan Isaac.

Orlando’s defense did not rise to the occasion. Gordon and Isaac made things hard for Siakam and Leonard, but they were still able to beat the defense.