The Orlando Magic lost out to the Houston Rockets in an entertaining game on Monday night. A loss that only served once again to highlight the bench issues the team is facing right now.
Optimistic fans will continue to point out the fact that the Magic actually have some depth on their roster — and the team finally got solid performances from Mo Bamba (14 points in 19.5 minutes) and Terrence Ross (21 points, 5-for-10 shooting from deep).
They would not necessarily be wrong. But it is clear the way in which the bench is being used is not getting the best out of the players who come off of it to try and impact the game.
It is also obvious that the 2-9 Magic have two players in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner who are simply miles better than anybody else in the rotation.
When the Orlando Magic go to the bench the drop-off in production is notable right away. So let’s look at a few ways the Magic can address this as the season progresses.
As was evident against the Rockets, the Magic have a jumbo-sized starting five.
Wendell Carter and Bol Bol starting together is scary for opponents, and although the defensive identity clearly needs some work, the ability to alter shots and scare players out of the paint is there in abundance.
Banchero and Wagner are not undersized for their positions either. But perhaps the move here is extracting Bol from the starting group.
He has started five games this season, but can be just as effective coming off the bench. This could allow Chuma Okeke to start and get more minutes, or even Kevon Harris whose defensive intensity has been a plus early in the season.
That would be harsh on Bol, who is having the best season of his young career. It would also be bad news for Bamba, who is finding some consistency and having an impact off the bench right now.
But would it create more balance across the roster? Mobile bigs who can alter many shots clearly are not the issue then, it is the lack of backcourt depth that is.
The team has dealt with tons of injuries to rotation players — once again leading the league in games lost to injury — and while there are some signs players are making progress, it remains unclear when they might return.
Markelle Fultz has been out for all of this season with a broken toe — he is at least doing some on-court work now. Cole Anthony is currently missing with an oblique injury.
Jalen Suggs has stepped up admirably, but when he is off the court there just is not the quality in place to stay at the level of the starting group.
R.J. Hampton had himself a nice game in the win over the Golden State Warriors, but did not play against the Houston Rockets and did not have an impact in a loss to the Sacramento Kings before that.
It is clear head coach Jamahl Mosley just does not trust R.J. Hampton for large portions of a game, and the same is true of Chuma Okeke. This has led to Caleb Houstan, who is not a traditional point guard, beating out Hampton for minutes.
A cursory look at some of the group’s bench numbers shows us where the real problem areas are:
- 83.9 minutes played per game (21st in the league)
- 30.3 points per game (24th in the league)
- 5.0 assists per game (27th in the league)
These figures reveal two things.
The first is Mosley is using his bench less than the league average. But in truth, he is still leaning on it too much throughout games out of necessity. Banchero is averaging 34.6 minutes per game, but cannot play all of the time.
The second point is that offensively, the raw numbers get very stagnant when much of the bench group is on the court.
If you hhave watched the Magic play, then this should come as no surprise. Banchero is already a superb offensive player, a genuine star. When he is off the court, not even the savvy veteran play of sixth man, Ross, can cover up the holes that quickly appear.
What is more encouraging from the bench’s perspective is they rank 15th in rebounds per game (15.2), and fifth in blocks (2.6, although Bol coming off the bench half the time massages that number as he alone averages 2.2 blocks per night). This is a young group and so for the most part the willingness on the defensive end has been there.
What will help the Magic in the short term to improve their bench is getting some players back on the court.
Fultz will be a huge addition when he returns and will bring some much-needed balance to the rotation. He may come off the bench to begin with. But once he is fully fit and playing alongside Suggs in the backcourt, it will allow Anthony to bring some punch to the second unit.
Whether Bol or Bamba continues as the backup big, they are both capable of being plus defenders and can also knock down 3-point shots as well. This ability to do a bit of both will also be beneficial to the second unit. Once they get more reps alongside Anthony or Fultz, it will also be of more help to the bench.
Gary Harris may be seen as an afterthought, but he is a gunner who once healthy will again add some more quality here.
Right now it is not pretty, and the losses are coming thick and fast. But the fortunes of the bench will turn, and it may be that the eventual return of Jonathan Isaac is the tipping point for positive change.