The Orlando Magic have made it pretty clear they want their team built on defense.
Just look at the draft history under Jeff Weltman — Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Chuma Okeke, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner — all were drafted as plus defenders to give the team a solid defensive base. His coaching hires in Steve Clifford and Jamahl Mosley both have a defensive bend to them too.
Looking at the team last year, the one thing they were at least decent at was their defense. Orlando finished last season 19th overall in defensive rating (112.1 points allowed per 100 possessions) and finished seventh after the All-Star Break (111.2 points allowed per 100 possessions).
That was something to hang their hat on. But something they still have to work and improve on. This will be central to the Magic’s potential success this coming year.
Perceptually, the Magic have good defenders because of all that goodwill from drafting. Orlando feels like it should build a strong defense.
The Orlando Magic are banking on their defense to help the team grow and develop this season. They have plenty of solid perimeter defenders to get themselves started.
Their post defenders feel like they will be good. Wendell Carter was stellar defensively last season. Both Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter were solid giving up 57.0 and 57.4-percent shooting at the rim last year with good rim protection.
It is filling out the rest of the defense that will be the question. Especially as the Magic experiment with different schemes and possibilities. The Orlando Magic switched a lot during Summer League and have the personnel to copy what the Boston Celtics did as they built the top defense in the league last season on their way to the NBA Finals.
Switching defenses work for teams that communicate really well and have versatile defenders. Orlando has loaded its roster with players who can guard multiple positions. The team has put an emphasis on length as a way to close down passing lanes and deter drives to the paint.
Defense is indeed a team game now. There are individually great defenders, but everything exists within a scheme. And modern offenses have forced defenses to focus on rotating and scrambling. Thus the advent of switching to gum up the motion offenses and devolve teams into isolation sets (although even that can backfire if the right player gets the wrong defender on him).
Orlando should be loaded with top-notch help defenders. They have lots of players with great defensive principles and potential. But who is the main stopper? Who is going to be the one to get the call when the game is on the line?
At the end of the day, defense is still a one-on-one battle — especially at the end of games when offenses devolve — and whether a player is going to be able to get a stop.
The Magic have a lot of great defenders, but who is going to be that best perimeter defender? Who is the Magic’s stopper?
There are plenty of options.
Who is the Orlando Magic’s best perimeter defender?
The Case for Jalen Suggs
Let’s start with someone we have already dove deeply into defensively in Jalen Suggs.
Suggs had an uneven rookie season. Perhaps even disappointing as he struggled offensively. But the Magic would tell everyone he was fantastic on defense. And he was fantastic on defense.
By the numbers, opponents shot worse from every level than expected when Suggs was the closest defender. The Magic had a better defensive rating with Suggs on the floor than any other rotation player.
According to data from Basketball Index, Suggs was an expert at getting deflections and steals, darting into passing lanes and being a disruptor if anyone came near him. He ranked in the 89th percentile in passing lane defense — getting 4.4 bad pass steals and deflections per 75 possessions.
Suggs was just extremely active and advanced for a player of his experience level.
He was able to flip between positions, chase on screens and just be generally disruptive. That was perhaps the most notable thing about Suggs defensively. He was so good at getting himself back into plays.
Suggs had a lot of these plays where he was able to slide down in help side and make a play. He has great awareness to make these plays.
This might well be why Suggs is not the best perimeter defender on the team. At least not yet.
One area where Suggs still needs to improve is his on-ball defense.
In the few isolation possessions he defended, opponents scored 1.21 points per possession against Suggs. According to Basketball Index, he rated positively for his on-ball defense but not nearly as strong as his off-ball defense, ranking in the 65th percentile.
That is not to say Suggs still cannot improve. At this point, he is still young and far advanced for a player of his age. But the Magic may be better using him in that free safety role where he gobbled up plays and made an impact for the team last year.
His development on defense is as key as his development on offense.
Who is the Orlando Magic’s best perimeter defender?
The Case for Gary Harris
One of the big debates and training camp battles that we will be watching throughout the preseason will be how the Magic settle on who to go with at shooting guard. Indeed, Jalen Suggs is not a guarantee to be starting there as the team looks to win a little bit more.
It is worth remembering that Gary Harris was set to start opening night last year against the San Antonio Spurs before he became a late scratch. Suggs started that game and things seemed to be working well enough that they stuck with it. It makes sense that Orlando would choose the young player with the season they had last year.
Now the Magic’s goals are still not all in on winning and making the playoffs. But the Magic say they want to win. So it makes some sense to lean toward the veteran in Harris for some lineup balance and spacing.
The biggest advantage Harris would have is his shooting. He is a critically good shooter for a team that lacks it.
But Harris is no slouch defensively either.
Opponents scored only 0.83 points per possession against him in isolation, according to NBA.com’s tracking stats, the best mark among perimeter rotation players. Granted that was only in 35 possessions (a sign perhaps that teams were loathed to go after him).
Despite his seeming small size — he does not have the other-worldly length of his teammates — he still displayed plenty of defensive versatility. According to Basketball Index, he mostly defended slashers and secondary playmakers.
Like Suggs, he ranks positively as a defender, ranking in the 75th percentile in on-ball perimeter defense last year. Like Suggs too, he was great at getting deflections and steals as well as chasing down defenders.
Suggs might be the more dynamic athlete in passing lanes, but Harris is just a smart and capable defender. He does not do anything super flashy but he is always seemingly in the right position.
The Magic’s guards do get a bit light.
Cole Anthony is a better defender than he gets credit for — Basketball Index rates him in the 67th percentile in on-ball perimeter defense. He had his struggles and is not characterized as a great defender although he took some important steps last year.
R.J. Hampton is being groomed as a strong defender. Everyone around the organization talks about him as if he will be one of the team’s best stoppers.
But the numbers all say outside of his ability to get steals, Hampton’s defense left a lot to be desired. However, Hampton gave up 0.80 points per possession in pick and rolls last season on 215 possessions. He stepped up to the plate in that front.
Who is the Orlando Magic’s best perimeter defender?
The Case for Franz Wagner
The Orlando Magic did their homework really well in finding two rookies who were plus defenders. That is just extremely rare. Defense usually takes the longest for young players to understand. Especially when they are in rebuilding situations.
Opponents also like to target rookies and with all the big forwards in the league, teams were targeting Franz Wagner a ton.
But Wagner stood tall, just as he stood tall with everything the Magic threw at him. As excited as Magic fans are about his offensive ability, they should be just as excited for Wagner on the defensive end. There was just not a lot Wagner could not do.
In pick and rolls against the ball handler, opponents scored just 0.77 points per possession on 212 possessions. That trailed only Jalen Suggs on the team among regular rotation players. In isolation, Wagner gave up 0.90 points per possession on 1.0 possession per game.
Overall, opponents shot 43.2-percent against him, 2.7 percentage points better than expected.
Wagner was a positive defender. The offensive versatility that he showed came through on defense too.
He moves his feet well and is able to use his body well to get in front of players. Wagner is rarely off balance and can use his length to stay in front.
He is just solid. But if anything, he needs to be more aggressive or be more willing to be aggressive. Just like with his offense.
Basketball Index ranks his on-ball perimeter defense in the 68th percentile. That is a positive defender, but hardly anything to write home about. Like everything else, Wagner still has some work to do to add some strength and solidify what was a great start for his career on the defensive end.
But like everyone else, he is solid in help and works well in the scheme and in help. That is what makes him a solid defender at this early stage.
Who is the Orlando Magic’s best perimeter defender?
The Case for Chuma Okeke
Chuma Okeke is still one of the most intriguing and interesting prospects for the Orlando Magic. It is hard to say exactly what he can be or what his role will be this season.
Offensively, his shooting is likely going to be the biggest determining factor for whether he can crack the regular rotation and establish himself there for the long term.
But Okeke is going to stay in the conversation all year because he is a fantastic defender. He may well be the best perimeter defender on the team, especially against bigger forwards. And that is saying something considering how impressive the Magic’s group of young defenders are.
Chuma Okeke trailed only Gary Harris in isolation defense, giving up 0.84 points per possession on 49 possessions.
Okeke is really good at getting deflections most of all, getting 3.0 deflections per 75 possessions and 2.0 steals per 75 possessions. The steals rank him in the 98th percentile, according to Basketball Index.
Okeke’s biggest strength is simply his ability to keep players in front of him and his ability to deflect and deter to keep players from getting to their spots. From there he can contest shots well and set others up.
Unlike the other players on this list, Okeke is not nearly as quick laterally. That affects his ability to chase defenders on cuts. He can also have slower reaction times to committing to help defense or rotating to the next man. That can get him burned at times defensively.
Basketball Index rates Okeke in the 55th percentile in on-ball perimeter defense. His value tends to come in his ability to get deflections and beat initial attacks. But getting him to change direction or react quickly can burn him both on and off the ball.
This will be something Okeke needs to continue to develop. But a lot of the defensive instincts and bones are there. He has shown that in both of his seasons with the team. And Okeke still projects as a positive defender. If not one who needs to continue developing.
Who is the Orlando Magic’s best perimeter defender?
The Case for Jonathan Isaac
It is easy to forget just how good Jonathan Isaac was defensively in the 2020 season before his initial knee injury. It is hard to project how good Isaac will be when he does finally hit the court this season.
Whatever shape Isaac is in, the Magic should still feel confident they will get someone who can make a positive impact defensively. Whether that is working as simply a rim protector and free safety backstop or someone they feel comfortable locking up the best players in the league one-on-one.
Jonathan Isaac is still the only player on the team with an elite NBA skill (Paolo Banchero might be giving him a run for that title with his scoring and playmaking). He was on track to make the all-defensive team before his injury in 2020.
This is not just about his stellar 13-point, 10-rebound, five-assist, four-steal and six-block performance against the Dallas Mavericks. That near 5×5 game put the whole league on notice of his impact defensively. The Magic were waiting that season to see if his offense would catch up.
The Magic can only hope they can deploy Isaac as a do-everything defender when he returns. It is yet to be seen how quickly these instincts return or just how much athleticism he has been able to rebuild. Likely, Isaac will have stages where he looks good and stages where he struggles.
But he was otherworldly defensively in 2020.
He gave up 0.70 points per possession as the defender in 33 isolation possessions according to NBA.com. Opponents shot 3.9 percentage points worse when Isaac was the closest defender according to NBA.com’s tracking stats.
The advanced numbers are also impressive.
Opponents shot 8.52 percentage points worse at the rim than expected and he had 2.9 blocks per 75 possessions. All among the very best in the league.
His on-ball perimeter defense ranked in the 66th percentile in the league according to Basketball Index. But he ranked in the 96th percentile in pass lane defense and deflections per 75 possessions.
Even for a player of his size, he was good at chasing players around screens — ranking in the 64th percentile in off-ball chaser defense.
He was just a menace, getting his hand on the ball constantly and keeping opponents off balance with his size and skill on that end. Isaac was just not someone players were getting by. And it is just exciting thinking of the possibilities if Isaac can get close to those levels from 2020 before his injury.
It is yet to be seen how quickly Isaac can approach those levels or what he can contribute. But Isaac was simply disruptive and able to do anything the Magic needed from him defensively.
He too might work better as a free safety than as a primary defender. But he was more than capable of stepping in and getting a stop.
The Magic will be trying to find roles. But the good news is they have a lot of players capable of taking on the responsibility of guarding their man and getting critical stops.
Even better news is they have plenty of help behind them too and should prove to have a tough defense to crack this year.