By John DentonFeb. 5, 2015
ORLANDO – To a man, Orlando Magic interim coach James Borrego and standout players Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic said that deposed coach Jacque Vaughn wasn’t solely to blame for all that’s gone wrong this season.
But that trio stressed on Thursday that it is on them now to work together over the final 30 games to get the Magic playing up to their potential and somewhat salvage this season.
On the heels of Orlando’s 10th consecutive loss and its 16th defeat in the past 18 games, Vaughn was fired on Thursday by CEO Alex Martins and GM Rob Hennigan. Magic management felt that the team has far too much talent in place to be 15-37 and a move was made to remove the highly respected Vaughn in hopes of sending a charge into the players.
While admitting that the Vaughn firing ``makes this day tough,’’ Harris said that there was a need for a shakeup because of the struggles that have engrossed the team for the past six weeks. Harris said the players were as much or more to blame for the struggles than Vaughn, and he’s hopeful that Thursday’s transaction will serve as a wake-up call for the team.
``It’s a combination (of blame between the players and coach). In this situation we have underachieved as a team,’’ Harris said. ``We have to step our games up. This is a moment that we have to come together as a team and pick our stuff up.’’
Vucevic was angered that the Magic’s struggles this season cost Vaughn his job. The two of them arrived in Orlando in the summer of 2012 and the coach played a big role in the 7-footer blossoming into being one of the game’s best low-post players by believing in his abilities. Vucevic said it’s now on the Magic players to prove that they have more talent than their poor record suggests.
``I don’t think it should all be blamed on Jacque and most of the blame should be on the players because we’re the ones out there playing and we obviously weren’t doing that good of a job,’’ said Vucevic, Orlando’s leading scorer and rebounder. ``The way it goes in sports, the coach normally takes the blame when teams don’t win. Honestly, it shouldn’t be that way because Jacque did all that he could do. But it’s one us now as players to turn it around and start winning some games.’’
Borrego, 37, endured an avalanche of emotions on Thursday when Vaughn was fired and he was offered the interim job by Hennigan. Vaughn and Borrego have known each other since 2006 when Vaughn was a reserve point guard for the San Antonio Spurs and Borrego was working his way up from intern to video coordinator to assistant coach.
When Vaughn was hired as Orlando’s head coach in July of 2012, he plucked Borrego off the New Orleans Hornets staff to be his top assistant. Borrego never envisioned that his first shot at being a head coach would come at the expense of his close friend.
``We’re in the same family, and this is like having a separation in your family,’’ said Borrego, who was informed by Magic GM Rob Hennigan on Thursday of Vaughn’s firing and his promotion. ``That’s not going to change for Jacque and I. What we have and share goes beyond basketball and we’ll continue to build on our friendship.
``There were a wealth of emotions, but the biggest was the sadness and disappointment of losing my head coach,’’ Borrego continued. ``That’s immediately where I went. The last hour or so I’ve had to wrap my hands around the idea of leading this group. But the initial reaction was emotional with a lot of disappointment and sadness.’’
In the hours before Wednesday’s loss in San Antonio – one of the Magic’s most inspired efforts in weeks – Borrego ran the morning film session for the team and detailed the plan of attack. The Magic led by as much as 11 points early in that game, had two two-point edges in the third quarter and got within a basket of the Spurs several times in the fourth before ultimately losing 110-103.
Both Harris and Vucevic raved about Borrego’s personality and knowledge of the game. He has a good relationship with many of the players from the time he has spent working with Magic players over the last 2 ½ seasons.
``J.B. is a great guy and he’ll come in and do the best job that he can do,’’ Harris said. ``We have to have his back during this time. We have to want to win and play hard and do all that we can do to help (Borrego). But J.B. is going to be a good guy for us and he’ll get the best out of us.’’
Borrego is the coach who has played in a big role in Vucevic developing into one of the NBA’s best low-post players. The two often watch film together after practice and go through shooting sessions together before games.
``J.B. is my guy and that’s who I have worked with on a daily basis, watched the film with and talked about games with,’’ Vucevic said. ``He’s a guy that I have a great relationship with and he’s a great guy. He always stays positive and brings energy to practice to pump us up. I know this will be tough for him because he was close with Jacque, but it’s on us as players to support (Borrego) and help him the best that we can.’’
Borrego is hopeful that his familiarity with the players will help spark a turnaround in the Magic over the final 30 games. He said that he would be making some minor changes to the plan of attack in the very near future, and that making strides on defense is a major area of emphasis.
``I’d say I have a strong relationship with most, if not all of these players,’’ Borrego said. ``That’s partly what our environment has been with a strong nucleus and the assistant coaches have been a big part of players’ development and growth. Jacque really trusted us to build that relationship.
``There’s not just one factor why we have struggled,’’ Borrego said. ``When you look at the numbers and watch the film, it’s not one factor. The area that we can control now is that defensive end. The efficiency has to be better in the immediate future.’’
Asked if he would sleep on Thursday night before facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday in his first game as a head coach, Borrego cracked, ``I’ll let you know (on Friday).’’