Orlando Magic need to consider starting Chuma Okeke

With a 2-8 start to the NBA season, the Orlando Magic are quickly fading and need to find a way to stay afloat.

Winning may not be the season’s ultimate goal, but the team should still see wins as a sign of progress. And the team has played staggeringly few clutch minutes during the team’s first 10 games. Orlando is struggling to stay competitive. The team needs to find rotational balance.

Orlando needs to stay alive while Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz are progressing to make their return. For the Magic to stay above water, something needs to change. That change may be inserting Chuma Okeke into the starting lineup.

Orlando’s current starting lineup has been a positive force for the team. But its success is starting to wane.

The Orlando Magic’s starting lineup is beginning to wane as teams adjust. The Magic may soon find themselves needing to start Chuma Okeke to find balance again.

The Magic’s current starting five was a mystery as to why it was working so well. Through the first six games, the group had a +28.7 net rating (115.3 offensive rating/86.7 defensive rating) in 70 minutes. It was the only lineup the Magic used consistently.

In raw numbers, that group was +7.2 points per game. Yet, the Magic were still losing and a lot, starting the year 1-5.

In the last four games though, that group has a -5.2 net rating (91.6 offensive rating/96.8 defensive rating) and is -1.0 points per game in 47 minutes. That is not killing the team completely, especially as the Magic settle on a more normal rotation.

But Orlando’s most consistent lineup on both ends of the floor has started to lose its effectiveness as teams get more tape on them. If these struggles continue, and as Chuma Okeke continues to get back into rhythm after returning from a bone bruise in his hip, Orlando will have to make a change.

Everything is simply stalling out and the Magic have lost their advantage to start games.

As a team, the Magic are struggling on the offensive end of the floor. In the last four games, especially the starting unit, as they have shot 37.5-percent from the field and 31.7-percent from three.

There is an argument to be made that the starting duo of Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. have weaknesses that have finally arrived.

While there have been positives from the duo, these weaknesses cannot be ignored. Neither center can consistently put the ball on the floor, which slows the offense once a defense closes out and forces either Bamba or Carter to make a play off the dribble.

Coach Jamahl Mosley has praised their ability to pass and create high/low sets, especially since both have shown a willingness and an ability to hit from the outside. The two have made 32 passes and seven assists with each other this season. That is at least moderately impressive for center-to-center passing.

The two have also been solid defensively. They have gotten good at cleaning each other’s mistakes and switching when teams try to exploit quicker 4s against Carter. Bamba’s shot-blocking has helped clean up some mistakes.

But the results are the results and the team already has an uphill climb with a bench group that has struggled to find consistency or traction.

This issue may be enough to consider a change in the starting five. There has not been enough of a sample size to determine how Chuma Okeke and Franz Wagner would play together on the wings. So far this season, the duo has played 31 minutes together so far this season with a -3.4 net rating (93.4 offensive rating/96.8 defensive rating).

The two have shown incredible defensive potential switching on the perimeter and have had some good defensive moments. But it is still to be determined whether this duo can be effective. They likely have not been in playing groups that would produce a ton.

But in theory, it may be a lineup that will boost Orlando on both ends of the floor.

Both Wagner and Okeke are very strong on the defensive end of the floor and can switch on many screens and guard the perimeter. Okeke has displayed the ability to guard in the post as well. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chuma Okeke did a solid job guarding Karl Anthony-Towns in the fourth quarter. That was a key factor to the team’s win that evening.

On the offensive end of the floor, it will give the offense a new lens that will give the team more room to operate. Wagner has already shown he is capable of starting at the small forward spot and is playing well, scoring 14.1 points per game on 47.5-percent from the field and 39.6-percent from three.

As Okeke continues to play himself back into rhythm, he will provide more offense.

So far this season, Okeke is averaging 6.0 points per game with a 39.1-percent effective field goal percentage. He is still clearly getting his feet back under him.

In his recent game against the San Antonio Spurs, Okeke scored eight points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field while getting two blocks and a steal. Mosley has praised Okeke for his basketball IQ. And it is clear what Okeke can do, even as the team tries to coax more aggression out of him.

It is time for Chuma to be able to do more. And as he continues to get into rhythm, it is going to be hard to keep Okeke off the floor.

Orlando’s starting group is starting to falter. And the Magic are still losing games at an alarming rate. Even for a rebuilding team, 2-8 should be somewhat concerning along with the team’s -8.6 overall net rating (27th in the league).

In the end, this change will likely be temporary as no one knows what the starting five will be once the team is fully healthy. Starting Okeke might be a way to prepare the team for Isaac’s eventual return and a return to a stretch-4 lineup rather than a two-big lineup.

But the team needs to change now. Okeke may be the perfect candidate to be the change the Magic need.

Time is ticking on the team as they continue to fall in the standings, it is up to Mosley to push the button that needs to be pressed.