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Borrego, Budenholzer Share Bond From Days in San Antonio

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

Feb. 27, 2015

ATLANTA – Quite possibly, no one in the NBA knows Orlando Magic interim coach James Borrego better than Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, a former co-inhabitant of the film room for hours on end while both worked for the San Antonio Spurs.

Both Borrego and Budenholzer got their starts in the NBA as interns and video coordinators for the San Antonio Spurs and methodically worked their way up to assistant coach and head coach roles. Budenholzer, who worked for the Spurs from 1996-2013 and the first two seasons as the video coordinator, recently coached the East squad in the NBA All-Star Game and has had the Hawks on top the Eastern Conference most of the season. Borrego, who worked for the Spurs from 2003-10, took over as interim coach of the Magic when Jacque Vaughn was dismissed on Feb. 5.

``I’ve spent probably more physical hours with J.B. than anybody in the NBA, spending a lot of time in the film room putting together edits. He’s a great friend and a great person,’’ Budenholzer said. ``He’s doing a great job with the (Magic) team and I have so much respect for him. He’s helped me so much over time and he’s a special friend.’’

Because of their backgrounds in video, Budenholzer and Borrego joked that ``we shouldn’t be here,’’ as head coaches in the NBA. Borrego admitted that it will be a bit surreal looking down the sideline and seeing Burdenholzer, a person who he has spent hours with talking basketball, watching film and formulating coaching ideas.

``It’s special to me because all of those men have been a big part of my life and they are a big part of who I am,’’ said Borrego, who has recently coached against former co-workers Monty Williams and Brett Brown before facing Budenholzer. ``It’s an honor to coach against them and it was an honor to coach with them. They are friends and I have a great amount of respect and love for those guys. I don’t like facing (Budenholzer) because he’s a heck of a coach and he’ll have his team ready.’’

GIMPY GORDON AND FOURNIER: Magic rookie Aaron Gordon did not make the trip to Atlanta for Friday night’s game because of a sprained right ankle. The rookie suffered the injury in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat and he did not return to the game.

The thought in leaving the rookie behind in Orlando was that Gordon could better care for his ankle if he avoided flying and got care at the team facility at the Amway Center.
Orlando was also without guard/forward Evan Fournier on Friday night because of a sore right hip. Fournier was also injured in Wednesday’s game. He tested the injury out Friday morning and again before the game, but was a late scratch from the rotation because of persistent pain.

Injury troubles have caused Gordon – the NBA’s second-youngest player at 19 years old – to stop and start several times this season. The No. 4 pick in last June’s NBA Draft played the first 11 games before fracturing a bone in the outside of his left foot. Following surgery to place a stabilizing screw in his foot, Gordon missed nine weeks.

Lingering soreness in the foot knocked him out of a game in San Antonio three weeks ago, but he returned to the rotation two days later. Gordon was in the midst of a good game on Wednesday when he landed awkwardly and his foot seemed to buckle. After shooting two free throws, Gordon committed a foul, checked out of the game and limped off to the locker room.

In 26 games this season, Gordon is averaging5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.5 minutes. After making all three of his field goals attempts against Miami on Wednesday, Gordon is shooting a stellar 53.4 percent from the floor.

His availability for Sunday’s home game against the Charlotte Hornets is uncertain.

MASSIVE GAINS: If not for two especially crushing losses – they blew a six-point lead in the final 32 seconds to Chicago and an eight-point advantage to Miami on Wednesday – the Magic would be 6-1 under Borrego. Still, at 4-3 prior to Friday night’s game in Atlanta, Orlando is better off than it’s been much of this season because of the strides that it has made defensively.

A Magic team that yielded 100 points or more in 14 straight games from Jan. 9 through Feb. 4 held seven straight foes to less than 100 points after Borrego took over the head coaching gig.

Remarkably, Orlando has made major improvements on the defensive end of the floor despite having limited time on the practice court – something that is surprising even to Borrego.

``We’ve had five practices and we’ve done all of this in five practices. It’s a credit to the men in that locker room,’’ Borrego said. ``That’s why my focus and the lens that I will look through is one of our progress. In five practices, we’re moving toward becoming an elite defense. Not just a good defense, but an elite defense.’’

Borrego said Orlando’s about-face defensively is an indicator of just how talented the roster is. Through the first 52 games of the season, Orlando ranked 24th in the NBA in points allowed (102.3 ppg.), 29th in field goal percentage allowed (47.1 percent) and 25th in 3-point percentage allowed (36.1 percent). But in the seven games before Friday, Orlando had climbed into some rarified air defensively.

``The progress that we’re making in the last seven games – No. 1 points in the paint defense, No. 1 fastbreak defense, No. 2 field goal percentage defense and No. 3 in points allowed in two overtime games – to me that’s progress,’’ Borrego said. ``That’s elite defense, that’s not going anywhere and that’s not changing. That’s who we are now.’’

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