Orlando Magic’s defensive gains come from fouling discipline

A quick look at the box score from the Orlando Magic’s 116-114 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, reveals a pretty clear difference.

The 76ers shot 37 free throws to the Magic’s 20. Joel Embiid and James Harden combined for 32 of those 37 free throw attempts. They took 20 of the 76ers’ 21 free throw attempts in the second half.

Star power definitely played a role in the game. And the Sixers used that ability to parade to the line to come back from a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes of the game. Orlando committed six fouls for 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and three fouls for four free throws in overtime.

It was a big part of the game as Embiid and Harden pushed their way to the line at the critical junctures.

When coach Jamahl Mosley was asked after the game about the free-throw discrepancy, he offered a quick, “No comment.” The Magic will await the two-minute report for some solace.

But the game on Sunday was something of a blip for a team that has started to come into its own defensively. As much as the team has sharpened its focus and its rotations defensively, a big part of the team’s improvement is because the team has started fouling a whole lot less.

The Orlando Magic have been surging defensively. A big reason why is they have started fouling a lot less and their defense has been more precise.

Learning to play physically without fouling is a difficult task. There is a fine line that every defense is trying to walk with the official. And the Magic are a young team without much currency among officials. But this is a line the team is starting to learn.

For the season, the Magic are 16th in the league with 19.8 fouls per game and they give up 22.4 free throw attempts per game, 19th in the league.

But in their last 15 games, the Magic are fifth in the league with 18.7 fouls per game and 12th in the league giving up 22.7 free throw attempts per game. Since the All-Star Break, they are 15th with 20.6 personal fouls per game and 16th in the league giving up 23.9 free throw attempts per game.

For comparison, to track the Magic’s defense, they are 20th in the league giving up 111.6 points per 100 possessions. In their last 15 games, they are fifth in the league giving up 109.7 points per 100 possessions. Since the All-Star Break, they are first, giving up 106.4 points per 100 possessions.

The Magic’s defense has been soaring of late. But the free throws and defending without fouling remain a difficult balance. And it is a key indicator of the team’s success one way or another.

In their losses since the All-Star Break, the Magic have given up more than 20 free throws in each of those four games, more than 25 free throws in three and more than 30 free throws in two of those losses.

Overall, Orlando has given up more than 25 free throw attempts in 25 games with just seven wins. The team has given up more than 30 free throw attempts in nine games with just two wins.

That is a pretty strong correlation

In their five wins since the All-Star Break, the Magic give up an average of 18.6 free throw attempts per game.

Orlando has given up fewer than 20 free throws 26 times this season. The team has seven of its 18 wins in those situations.

There is obviously a lot more to defense than not giving up free throws. But it should also be clear and logical that not giving up fouls and free throws is a sign of good defense.

Fouling is often a product of players being late to defend a driver or rotate over to help. Take this play from Joel Embiid on Sunday night:

The Magic tried to use Wendell Carter to trap James Harden in pick and rolls and move Mo Bamba, when he is in, to cover Joel Embiid as he rolls to the basket. They have Bamba guarding Matisse Thybulle, who is usually posted up in the corner and is not much of a 3-point threat.

But what happens on this play is Bamba is late to meet Embiid in the paint.

Carter traps Harden and forces that difficult pass to the middle. What should happen is Bamba should have pre-rotated once the trap was set to the middle of the paint to deter the pass to Embiid — if Harden tries to sling it over to Thybulle in the weakside corner, Bamba should have enough time to recover and challenge the shot.

Instead, Bamba hesitates and is a step slow. Embiid catches the ball in deep post position and all Bamba can do is foul him to try to prevent the shot (which he does not).

This is typically how and-one plays and fouls are given up. It is usually a late rotation or someone making a defensive mistake they are trying to make up for.

What has changed are more plays like this one from Jalen Suggs, where the help is on time or the crash is there to make an impact:

Markelle Fultz is able to stay in front of Tyrese Maxey here, bumping him without giving up the foul, and opens the door for Jalen Suggs to fly in for the swat with Maxey’s eyes glued on the basket.

This is the kind of help defense the Magic are looking for. It starts with strong individual defense to control and contain the initial ball handler — an area the Magic are still slowly improving in — and then good help from the other defenders to protect the paint, an area the Magic have been good at all season (they are sixth in the league giving up 44.4 points in the paint per game and fourth since the All-Star Break at 43.8 per game).

Fouling is still something Orlando is learning how to do. There have been plenty of games this year where the refs were quick with their whistle and the Magic backed off the physicality line too much. This team is still carving its reputation and sometimes they get caught with it.

That is what happened in Sunday’s loss as much as anything else.

But a good sign for Orlando’s defensive improvement has been how much they have worked to clean up their back-line rotations and limit opponents’ trip to the foul line. The Magic are a capable defensive team. They continue to prove that over and over again.

Free throws remain a key component of the team’s defensive improvement. And something that could flip games if the Magic are not precise.