It's been an underwhelming start to the season for the Orlando Magic to say the least. Although they showcased a much-improved defensive effort against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, the 6-6 record they hold as of Thursday morning is still a far cry from the kind of championship expectations that were touted in the preseason. But one way in which the team could seek to correct things is by continuing to impose their physicality on defense more, and maybe even lean into fouling where appropriate.
The Magic of course have plenty of big bodies to throw out on the floor. With whatever lineup Jamahl Mosley has on the floor, there could be some value in roughing up opponents and asserting physicality with regularity. Ultimately, doing this would be about sending a message of mental toughness and intimidation, which can create a psychological edge if done right.
When we look at the numbers, it's clear that Orlando doesn't foul nearly as much as one might expect based on their personnel. As of this writing, their personal foul rate is only around 19.7%, which puts them in the lower half of the league. They've also allowed a pretty high rim frequency, which ranked as high as third in the NBA as of earlier in November.
The Magic should seek to impose their will defensively with physicality
Essentially, the Magic are in the paint a lot on defense but not finishing strong defensively, and they're not really using fouls as a tool to change that tone. This backs up the idea that it's something that should be explored as this team continues to find its identity.
Some reading this may think that I'm promoting fouling in a dirty way, but that's not my intention at all. When using physicality in an intentional way to establish and protect your own defensive structure, that's far from a morally corrupt thing to do. There's zero intention to injure any opposing player.
For Orlando, carefully timed fouls early in games could serve to disrupt opponent rhythm, bring the element of physicality to the attention of the referees, and establish control for the Magic. This team has of course hung its hat on defense in the past, and this could be a way of gaining that identity back.
At the end of the day, a team like this needs to find its footing using controllable advantages. Right now, physicality is clearly being under-utilized from a big picture perspective. If Orlando's defense can become consistently imposing rather than just circumstantially energetic, the ceiling for this group is going to rise.