Wendell Carter has his goals set out for the 2027 season.
Statistically, Carter said, he wants to average at least three "stocks" per game. He wants to be on the All-Defensive team. But more importantly, as a team, he wants to be the anchor and backstop defensively. He wants other teams to know he is holding things down defensively for the Magic.
Those are lofty goals, especially for a player who is not typically known for doing the loud things.
He averaged only 1.4 stocks per game last year, and his career high is 1.6. His 7.4 rebounds per game are below his season average, but fans especially want more from him on the glass. They want clearer measurements of his impact.
What Carter is good at is his positional defending. He is solid and rarely out of position. While he might not fly in for blocks or boards, Carter is a dependable on the back line.
As much as everyone is watching the Magic's offense this preseason, everyone knows this team's identity is in its defense. And the key to any good defense is a center playing middle linebacker and calling things out behind the play.
For the Magic to make sense, Carter knows he has to up his game.
"I love where I'm at," Carter said after shootaround Friday. "I feel like I am doing a pretty good job. I'm not where I want to be. I'm a perfectionist. I want to get everything correct. There is always room for growth. I think that's the beauty of the game. I think defensively we have put together some really good stretches. Now it is about being confident on that end of the court, knowing what we're supposed to do and being a high-level communicating team."
Defense is at the heart of the Magic's path to success this season.
At first glance, the Magic's defense has not looked all that impressive. The team has given up points and a quick glance at the preseason stats has the Magic in the bottom five in defensive rating.
But quietly and surely, the Magic's defense is learning how Sean Sweeney wants to operate, putting good ball pressure and directing players where they want.
Like Carter, the flashy offense is what is gaining the attention. But success will come from the quiet building of their defense.
Defense in the preseason
A quick look at the preseason stats -- a fraught phrase -- would reveal the Orlando Magic rank 27th in the league with a 114.6 defensive rating. That number would put the team in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating last season.
That first glance would suggest the Magic are struggling on defense. The team gave up 116 points and a more-than-solid 110.5 points per 100 possessions in the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
It is preseason, there are good signs and bad signs.
But zooming in a bit closer reveals the Magic are making progress defensively.
In the first half, when the Magic's starters and rotation players filled every minute, the Magic rank 12th in the league with a 110.1 defensive rating. That is much closer to the level of defense the team is aiming for.
Even in the loss to the Cavs on Sunday, the Magic had a 113.0 defensive rating in the first half of that game. Defense is still at the heart of what the Magic are doing.
There are ups and downs. But things seem to be trending in a better direction.
"I think the thing to me that stood out is the improvement that we have made," coach Sean Sweeney said after shootaround Friday. "We have done a good job getting better each game. We were active last game, more deflections. We have seen a level of awareness and understanding of where to be improve throughout. Now we've got to keep building on that."
The Magic are trying some different things out schematically. They are blitzing screens a lot more. Switching is still a part of the puzzle. Everything is still getting fine-tuned.
It has not been loud yet. Everyone has noticed the Magic's sudden jump in pace on offense. But the team's defense is bubbling up and learning its foundations.
But Orlando has the strong defensive principles that made it one of the best defensive teams in the league for the past three years before last year's falloff. And even last year's fall off saw them fall to 13th in the league. There is a lot to work with.
The next steps
The next steps are still clear.
Friday's game against the Miami Heat will see the Orlando Magic challenged by one of the fastest-paced teams in the league. The Heat are fourth in the league with a 123.4 offensive rating in the first half of their preseason games. They are second in pace and second in fast-break points -- 21.5 per game for the whole game and 13.8 per game in the first half (fourth in the league).
The Heat run a heavy drive-and-kick game and have stretch bigs that will challenge the Magic in a new way.
If Orlando's defense can look solid in this game, it will be a good omen for the season. It is the kind of game the Magic want to test their foundations.
That is all the team is hoping to do as the preseason comes to a close. Continue to build on the defensive foundation they are working on as they begin to tighten screws and refine things for the regular season.
"I think our intensity has been great," Wendell Carter said after shootaround Friday. "We have been here three weeks before training camp. Ever since guys have been here, it has been very intense, especially when we get up and start playing against one another. I think that's what's going to help us really translate onto the court.
"One of our standards is: Edges every day. Having an edge every day, something to fight against and having a chip on your shoulder every day. I think we have been doing a really good job of that so far."
Wendell Carter praised Sean Sweeney for his attention to detail. The team has good schemes, but he has prepared them with information to help them beat their opponents. That has been the impression of Sweeney since camp began.
The Magic's defense has not been loud this preseason.
But it is building toward the regular season. And the Magic know that success this season starts with the defense. It has established a good foundation this preseason.
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