The Orlando Magic watched the NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals and no doubt learned some lessons on how they need to build their team to copy and compete.
The Larry O’Brien Trophy is on its way back to Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the season as favorites to win the title and overcame a ton of emotional adversity — from trying to come together as a new team scrambling to fill out their roster to the tragic death of Kobe Bryant to trying to come back together following the pandemic hiatus — to win the title. Even if a title seems inevitable, the journey to win one is always fraught with challenges.
Every champion has a lot to push through to get to the top of the mountain. They have to find their own way to do it.
The NBA, it is often said, is a copycat league. Everyone watches what the successful teams are doing and tries to copy them. The league essentially has scouts going around watching plays that other teams are using and copying them for their own teams. Coaches constantly steal plays from each other.
Each champion and each successful team in the NBA leaves its mark. They change the direction the league heads in. Especially as the league tries to figure out how to counter the teams that work best.
The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers were two very different teams.
The Lakers built their team to orbit around two superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That is certainly one of the lessons. But they also were a devastating defensive team that could be versatile and play any style. Coach Frank Vogel deserves a lot of credit for being nimble enough to adjust to smaller lineups while still maintaining their defensive mastery.
The Heat built their team around ball movement and toughness. Jimmy Butler was the perfect star to tie everything together, but the team had players in constant motion to spread the defense out, allowing players to attack the basket or kick out to 3-point shooters.
A healthy Miami Heat team very well could have scored the ultimate upset, becoming the lowest-seeded team to win a title since the Houston Rockets in 1995.
Everyone around the league was surely watching. And as they examine how to make themselves better, they are going to try to take lessons from what made the Lakers successful.
They changed the league, reintroducing two-big lineups and a more defensive-minded approach. How much they changed the league will be determined by next year’s champion.
There are still plenty of lessons to learn.
Lesson 1: Star Power
There is no getting around it. To win in the NBA, a team needs star players. The best players in league history are measured by their championships for a reason. And it is not a chicken or an egg problem.
The best teams have the best players and top-end talent is king.
The Los Angeles Lakers went from outside of the playoffs to NBA champions because LeBron James was healthy and they went out and acquired Anthony Davis. The Miami Heat went from out of the Playoffs to the Finals because they acquired Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade during the offseason and Bam Adebayo developed into an All-Star player.
The best players in the league win. And every team needs a clear star that can push them further in the playoffs.
If there is one thing keeping the Orlando Magic from seriously discussing winning at a higher level it is the lack of top-end talent.
Nikola Vucevic was an All-Star in 2019 and eventually returned to his All-Star level by the end of the 2020 season. His playoff performance was certainly star-worthy.
Los Angeles Lakers
But it is clear that even at Vucevic’s best, he is not a superstar who can change the team’s fortunes. He is not a primary option, not in a playoff series. Not if the team wants to get out of the first round.
It is hard to find another player with star potential on the roster.
Aaron Gordon has seemingly been knocking on the door of his star potential for three seasons. But he has failed to take that next leap to consistency.
Jonathan Isaac certainly has the elite defensive capability. But it is still uncertain how far his offensive game can go or how aggressive he will be as a scoring option. And he is out for the 2021 season recovering from a torn ACL.
Undoubtedly, the next big move the Magic have to make is to find a starring player to tie this whole roster together. That is the biggest piece this team is missing. It is hard to say what kind of star the team could or should target or who they could acquire.
The team is essentially waiting for its opportunity. Whether that comes from the Draft and finding a player who slips to them or going up and grabbing a player they believe has star written all over them or in a trade for a player looking for a new home, the Magic have to be on the lookout to fill this need.
Until then, the Magic are simply biding their time.
Lesson 2: Shooting is king
If the Orlando Magic have another glaring weakness it is their lack of 3-point shooting. It is something everyone within the organization seems to acknowledge. And the Magic have to find a way to become better shooters. Or a more consistent shooting threat.
This season, the Magic ranked 25th in the league shooting 34.3-percent from beyond the arc. Things were even worse in the Playoffs, especially with one of the team’s few good shooters in Evan Fournier dealing with an illness and struggling to get himself going.
Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat relied on their shooting to get them to the NBA Finals.
The Heat relied heavily on 3-point shooting to reach the Finals. They finished the season ranked second in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.9-percent.
Their whole offensive system is spaced with shooters allowing playmakers like Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler to drive. The spacing also allowed Bam Adebayo to work in the high post as a passer as they sent cutters to the basket. The Heat were a symbiotic offense where everyone worked together.
That is more how the Magic want to operate.
The Lakers were not a great 3-point shooting team in the regular season — similar to the Magic, they shot 34.9 percent. They were slightly better in the playoffs shooting 35.9-percent from deep. But they got timely shooting from players like Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris to pull out in the end.
The Lakers are probably also looking for more shooting this offseason to secure a repeat next season.
Shooting is a constant need throughout the league. The Magic are feeling this more than anyone else. Just about.
Orlando will have to make shooting a focus in its offseason for sure.
Lesson 3: Defensive Versatility
Both the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers proved adaptability is key when it comes to the playoffs. You have to be able to play any way matchups dictate throughout the course of the playoffs — and have the coach willing to shift as the matchup requires.
The Lakers were one of the best defensive teams in the league throughout the season — they finished third in the league in defensive rating.
Their team is full of strong individual defenders from Defensive Player of the Year finalist Anthony Davis, LeBron James (when he wants to be), Avery Bradley (who sat out the bubble), Alex Caruso, Rajon Rondo and the like.
Coach Frank Vogel, with actual defensive players at his disposal, implemented the same devastating defense he did with the Indiana Pacers and locked out the paint. Even with JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard, he was able to play with two bigs because Davis was so adept at playing on the perimeter.
The Heat were not the same defensive team their reputation has created this year. But they dialed it up in the postseason. Their ability to throw zone defenses at teams often threw them off and they could nimbly transition between the two to keep offenses off balance.
In either case, their defensive versatility was key. The Heat could play a number of different defenses and still keep their core identity on that end. So too could the Lakers as they nixed their two-big starting lineups for the Finals going with Caruso over Howard in Game 6 to clinch the title.
Miami Heat
Here, the Magic have at least one thing that seems to be on the right track. Orlando has collected several versatile defenders who can help the team play bigger or smaller as needed or in multiple ways.
Jonathan Isaac is obviously the prized defensive player who can probably defend all five positions. The Magic would love to employ him like the Lakers used Davis, able to slide between the post and the perimeter with ease. Isaac is more of a wing player than Davis, but the model is there.
Orlando also has versatile wing defenders like Aaron Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and (potentially) Chuma Okeke to help lock down the perimeter. Michael Carter-Williams is a versatile defender who can guard point guards too. Mohamed Bamba still projects as a potentially elite rim protector.
The Magic are building their program and franchise on defense. They have been fairly successful on that end in the regular season. The playoffs have still been a different story as the Magic try to tie all the pieces together.
Here too, coach Steve Clifford has sometimes not been quick enough to adjust on the fly and fully use the versatility of the roster.
Orlando should still put an emphasis on this defensive versatility even as they look to fill other needs and skills on the roster. This is one thing the Magic have right.
Lesson 4: Multiple Playmakers
The Miami Heat were not at full strength for the NBA Finals and it showed despite their best efforts.
The Los Angeles Lakers were always in control of the series, but Jimmy Butler did all he could to carry the Miami Heat to the title. And he nearly did it with two historic triple-doubles. He was carrying the team at every turn.
Orlando Magic
It was clear watching the Heat how much they missed Goran Dragic and, to some extent, Bam Adebayo. The Heat needed a second playmaker. They needed someone who could break down the defense and create for others.
The Lakers had that in LeBron James, the league leader in assists this year and one of the best superstar playmakers in NBA history. They also got a great Finals run from Rajon Rondo, who continued to add to his playoff legend.
Having multiple playmakers made everyone’s life easier. It was necessary to break the defense as they loaded up against the star players and did their best to wall off the paint. Every team needs multiple playmakers to make everything work.
The Orlando Magic seem to have one in Markelle Fultz. He is still growing in the league, but he was good at getting to the basket and creating for others. As essentially a rookie, the Magic have to be excited about where Fultz can grow.
But finding that second playmaker and creator is going to be a huge challenge.
A criticism of this Magic team from fans has been its reliance on Evan Fournier to create. He has to take a lot of shots. And even though Fournier was very efficient this season as a shooter, being a primary playmaker is not his forte. He works better attacking rotating defense or as a catch-and-shoot or cutting option.
The Magic would get a lot more from Fournier if they had a second guy in the lineup who could create and allow Fournier to work more as a spacer.
Like shooting, more guys who can create will help teammates get open shots and better looks for three. It really is a symbiotic relationship between spacing and creation.
Lesson 5: The Right Role Players
The final lesson from the NBA Finals — and it is a lesson that rings true seemingly every year — is how important the right role players can be. Everyone needs to fill in and play a specific role and play that well to win in the NBA.
Both the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers had role players throughout their roster step up in big spots throughout the Finals.
Duncan Robinson was a season-long starter, but his shooting was vital to the Heat’s success. So too was the emergence of Tyler Herro and the veteran consistency of Jae Crowder.
The Lakers got a steady veteran contribution from Rajon Rondo throughout the postseason. But Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also stepped up in major ways this season.
The Lakers and Heat both knew they could set those players up for success and to give the team exactly what they needed.
The Orlando Magic have a lot of players who are NBA players, but getting them in the right roles to contribute meaningfully to the team in big moments has been difficult. As constructed, Orlando needs all its top players playing their best to have any chance to win. There is no margin for error.
And that is partly because the Magic do not get a ton of offense from their role players. And the potential of losing someone like D.J. Augustin only sharpens the need for the Magic to add scoring depth to the team.
That was key to both the Lakers and the Heat taking the leap into the Finals.