The Orlando Magic know their defense has to be the base for their success this season. So far, they have struggled to reel their defense in through the preseason.
If there is something that can be said about the entire Orlando Magic roster, it is that they are generally nice guys. They are competitive and they are trying to win. But they are not full of boisterous players. They want to put their nose to the grindstone and work hard, hoping the sum is greater than the individual parts.
Everything for this team takes effort and focus. And everyone recognizes without doing basic principle things, the whole project will fall apart.
The Magic needed someone to get them to realize how to put all the pieces together. And after six years in the bottom 10 of both offense and defense, coach Steve Clifford helped transform the team’s defense and give this team something resembling an identity.
Orlando finished in the top 10 in defensive rating in the 2019 season, riding that to the postseason. The Magic had their way to play.
And they largely committed to that defensive identity in 2020. Until the end of the season when they saw considerable slips. They finished tied for 10th in defensive rating in the 2020 season. And it seemed like they left something on the table on what should have been their greatest calling card.
True, two of the team’s better defenders were not able to play much of the season — Al-Farouq Aminu was lost for the season in December and Jonathan Isaac went down in January. But the slippage on defense was concerning.
So concerning that it has spilled over into this year’s prep work. The Magic have not strung together much that is encouraging defensively in three preseason games. And there is little time to show they have it right before the season begins.
The Magic are not going to go anywhere without their defense. And more importantly, they have to know, believe and act like they are the strong defensive team they have established themselves as.
"“I think as much as anything, it was our mentality,” Clifford said after practice Friday. “There are things you have to be realistic as a coach, we’re not going to be as organized at the beginning of the year. Neither is anyone else. We have played well defensively when we have the right attitude. Guys can’t take defense for granted. And on the other hand, I think sometimes guys don’t have enough ego about how good a defensive team we are capable of being.”"
Clifford said the team has to get back to playing “Magic defense.” At this point, the Magic are not close to being good enough defensively.
Mixed results
To this point, noting it is preseason, the Orlando Magic have given up 108.0 points per 100 possessions. That is in the bottom-10 in the league for the preseason. But it is still preseason. So every stat should come with some grain of salt.
More likely you will see plays like the one above. Where a few players maybe are not in the right position or not fully engaged defensively — in this case, it is Evan Fournier who is slow to cover Kevin Huerter.
But someone else on the team is able to recover and make a defensive play. Just a little increase in effort goes a long way.
The Orlando Magic have had some good moments defensively for sure — the team gave up 105.8 points per 100 possessions in the second half of Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets. The team had some long stretches of solid defense where they got down and defended well to get stops and clean things up.
"“We definitely have spurts and segments where we are playing together,” Terrence Ross said after Thursday’s game. “I think the biggest thing for us is our defense. The defense is going to be the thing that charges us offensively. It’s going to make the offensive game easier. “I think that’s what we’re kind of understanding. We have stretches where we play good defense. It’s finding the intensity to maintain and have that defensive intensity the whole game and run the pressure up on the other team and take the pressure off on ourselves. We have to better understand how we play. But it’s coming along, I think we’ll get there.”"
In the preseason though it just has not been long or consistent enough.
Effort and Intensity
It is clear the impact the Orlando Magic’s defense can have. How they create pace and turnovers is very much about how they play in their base defense.
And if they want success on offense, it is going to start with the kind of pressure and opportunities their defense creates. It is easier to play at a higher pace when the ball is coming off a rebound rather than the bottom of the net.
So far the team has had waxing and waning effort and intensity, giving games a preseason vibe. The kind of effort everyone can recognize will not get it done during the regular season.
In this play from the Orlando Magic’s first preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. They do a good job scrambling and closing passing lanes. Chuma Okeke shows well on the screen and gets back to his man as others start to close the paint.
Markelle Fultz did a good job recovering in time to steal the crosscourt pass.
It was this kind of movement that was lacking in the Magic’s loss to the Hawks a few days later.
This is just a poor play in almost every way.
Trae Young drives in and tries a lob to John Collins. Aaron Gordon is caught a bit flat-footed but he is able to prevent John Collins from getting to the basket. But from there the entire defense just collapses. There are four bodies around the paint and everyone is watching the ball.
So Evan Fournier completely misses Kevin Huerter relocating to the corner. Everyone is just staring and ball watching.
Pretty much everything has gone wrong in this clip. This kind of effort is simply unacceptable. If the Magic are trying to play “Magic defense,” this is not it.
Some of this inconsistency is the nature of preseason though.
Clifford said some of the team’s issues in Thursday’s game was from heavy legs after two days of hard scrimmaging and practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. He said Friday was a lighter day and the team hopes to be able to put forth a more energetic effort in Saturday’s preseason finale.
The team was also trying out some new defensive schemes. Or at least some schemes the team has not practiced.
Prep Work
Steve Clifford’s philosophy for preparing for the regular season with the shortened training camp and offseason was to get guys playing. He installed enough offense and defense to have some basic organization, but he has not been able to install a full offense and defense.
He admits this fully. The team is not where it would be in a normal training camp. But he believes no team is where it should be this close to the season.
The team is trying to add some new schemes and admittedly the team has not fully installed them. The team has not been able to implement some schemes fully.
This includes blitzing pick and rolls, something the team rarely did last year until the end of last season.
There is a lot going on in this clip from Thursday’s game.
Khem Birch does a good job blitzing the screen, but the Charlotte Hornets have a good plan to attack it and the Orlando Magic are a bit disorganized behind it. Chuma Okeke is still learning to anticipate defensive rotations. He is caught guarding two guys — the roll man and Miles Bridges at the top of the key.
Khem Birch sticks with Devonte’ Graham a bit too long and Cole Anthony has to stay in the paint to tag Bismack Biyombo. That leaves the corner open and Anthony is just a hair late to get there to contest.
This was by no means the worst example of the Magic’s defense when trying to blitz pick and rolls. But it shows how this is not quite a second-nature strategy for the Magic. The biggest thing the Magic need is practice.
If the team is going to make mistakes and figure out if this can work, this is the time to do it — in the preseason where the result is not so important.
This will be something to watch throughout the season.
Magic fans have asked for the team to mix up its pick and roll coverage for a long time. Because Nikola Vucevic does not have a ton of mobility, the team has often used drop coverages. Clifford long said this was the best strategy to prevent penetration even if it means giving up mid-range jumpers.
Orlando Magic
But that tune appears to be changing. Clifford said after Thursday’s game he now believes teams have to mix pick and roll coverages. Playing one way becomes too predictable and teams can adjust and attack it.
Offenses are becoming far more sophisticated which makes playing defense even harder.
"“We blitzed a lot more after the All-Star Break and into the bubble and it was very good for us,” Clifford said after Thursday’s game. “It killed us in the first quarter. We’re not organized behind it. We haven’t spent a lot of time on it, I just wanted to do it. I think it’s the way to go in the NBA now. You can’t just drop. We have to be able to blitz and play our way out of it. I think that unless you have incredible talent, I don’t think you can have just one pick and roll coverage anymore.”"
Still some things cannot change.
Principles remain the same
The Orlando Magic’s principles still remain the same and that will be important to the team’s efforts by Wednesday.
The Magic want to limit their own turnovers to prevent transition opportunities. They want to control the defensive glass, preventing second-chance opportunities. And throughout his head coaching career, Clifford’s teams have done well to limit 3-point attempts — the team slipped their last year too, giving up the 12th-fewest 3-point attempts per game in the league.
Evan Fournier said he hopes that the Magic’s final preseason game will be a dress rehearsal for the regular season, noting the Magic need to play their brand of defense.
Orlando is running out of time to put all the pieces together and look like a team that is ready for the regular season. If that is truly the team’s goal for Saturday’s game, then they need to show those visible steps before Wednesday.
It probably will not be perfect — Clifford is clearly still installing some aspects of the team’s defense and willing to experiment some during these preseason games. But one thing that should not ever be in question is the team’s effort and intensity, even in making mistakes.
"“I think so much of training camp and preseason is finding your intensity and finding your purpose of play,” Clifford said after Thursday’s game. “[Thursday] was mostly individual help and pick and rolls. There is just so much separation out there. Those are things we have spent a lot of time on so they can be corrected quickly. I think that’s for every team.”"
And in the final preseason game, the Magic have to make good on that.
This team can be a good defensive team. They certainly can be a better defensive team than they have shown to this point. And the goal of being a top-10 defense is almost a requirement for the team to make the playoffs.
So far this preseason, it feels like the intensity on that end has not ratcheted up enough. and the question coming out of the preseason now is whether the Magic can truly flip the switch and hit a regular season gear.
They have to find their defensive intensity because that is central to the team’s chances of winning this season. They have to take pride in it. And yes, they have to have a bit of an ego and confidence about it to succeed.