Michael Carter-Williams is the Orlando Magic’s forgotten absence
The Orlando Magic have missed a lot of key players recently. It is easy to forget their energy guard Michael Carter-Williams has also been missed.
The Orlando Magic have precious few wins against elite teams in the league. The Orlando Magic’s record against winning teams is pretty minuscule — just the win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The team lacks a strong resume in the weak Eastern Conference playoff race.
That win came with a bit of an edge. The Orlando Magic were feeling the pressure of building a strong homestand after a disappointing loss to the Indiana Pacers. The game hardly turned on what Michael Carter-Williams did in the third quarter of that game.
He got into the face of Josh Richardson, drawing a technical foul and getting under the skin of the 76ers’ shooting guard. He would draw a block on the next play, but it was Richardson picking up the technical foul for continuing to jaw at him.
That win seemed to spark the Magic to close that homestand with another three wins. He was a spark defensively, giving the team a needed edge. As he did last year when he joined the team, he was good at pushing the pace. Never mind he was still not a factor as an outside shooter, he was still able to drive the lane and finish around the basket.
But at the end of that homestand, Michael Carter-Williams took an odd hit to his hip. He is officially listed with left hip irritation. And his absence would be a big story . . . if not for the injuries to Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon that would happen a game later.
The Magic are certainly missing their best player in Nikola Vucevic. They certainly are eager to get Aaron Gordon back up to full speed — he is shooting just 4 for 22 since returning from his sprained right ankle.
But the team might quietly be missing Carter-Williams as much as anyone.
For a team built on sustained defense and bringing the ball up the court quickly, Carter-Williams is tailor-made to help this team.
The good news then is that after missing the last five games, Carter-Williams appears to be on his way back. He was officially upgraded to “doubtful” on the team’s injury report ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Washington Wizards.
A return seems imminent, although still unlikely for the upcoming back-to-back. And it is one they certainly could use.
The Magic have a 102.2 defensive rating with Carter-Williams on the floor, a mark that tracks the team’s overall strength defensively with its second unit. The Magic play at a pace of 100.6 possessions per 48 minutes, a mark that trails only Wesley Iwundu among rotation players.
If the backbone of the Magic’s success is based off strong defense and a willingness to run, Carter-Williams embodies that wish as well as any individual player. Coach Steve Clifford has called Michael Carter-Williams one of the best defenders in the league. And Carter-Williams’ injection of pace last year was a big reason for the team’s push to make the playoffs.
As Orlando has struggled with consistency on both ends, Carter-Williams seems like he would be an extremely useful player. At least to keep things stable and humming along.
Things are not perfect with Carter-Williams in, of course. The team’s offense craters with that second unit and Carter-Williams, with his 29.8-percent field goal shooting, is not helping matters.
But Carter-Williams gave the Magic a certain edge defensively especially. And that has been missing these last five games.
Orlando has had a lot to deal with during the last five games. But the defense especially has slipped.
The Magic had a defensive rating of 103.1 points per 100 possessions (seventh in the league) through Nov. 19, when Carter-Williams got hurt. Since that game, the Magic have a 105.1 defensive rating (still ninth in the league). The offense has taken a nosedive predictably with Vucevic out, making the big difference in the team’s play during that time.
Carter-Williams is certainly not everything for this team. His impact is probably more intangible at the end of the day. But it is still missed nonetheless.
The bench continues to struggle overall without him in there. It struggled to score with him in there.
But the team was more dynamic defensively with him in there. The Magic have certainly missed a bit of that defensive spark. Not to mention a guard willing to run and push the ball at every turn — even in the half-court.
It is hard to quantify what Carter-Williams does because it is so intangible.
He has a swagger that a lot of players on the team lack defensively, especially coming off the bench. He is not afraid to get physical and get into guys. He is not afraid to stir the pot and get under opponents’ skin.
Every good team needs an instigator — so long as they do not go overboard. Carter-Williams has certainly danced along that line so far this season. He introduces a little element of chaos the team could use to boost the energy of the second unit.
And at least create some transition opportunities.
Missing this bit of energy from a player like Carter-Williams should underscore how much the team is missing overall. It is not just the big gun in Nikola Vucevic but grinders like Michael Carter-Williams and Al-Farouq Aminu who help the team go, filling in gaps when necessary. It is those players who help make a bench unit work — especially now with Clifford staggering his lineups even more and tightening his rotation.
Perhaps, the Magic could look to use Michael Carter-Williams instead of D.J. Augustin as the backup point guard. D.J. Augustin theoretically provides a bigger offensive punch with his shooting but he has struggled to do so this year, helping explain some of the bench unit’s offensive struggles.
His return has been slowed over fears the irritation in his hip is related to a previous hip injury. It appears that is not the case and the Magic have been ramping up his workload slowly.
It does appear that Carter-Williams is due back soon. And the Magic will be very thankful to have him back.