By John Denton
March 10, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS – It would seem that the term ``hit first’’ would apply to football – or even baseball, for that matter – but James Borrego has brought the phrase into the Orlando Magic’s locker room since taking over as interim head coach on Feb. 5.
And tonight when the Magic (21-43) face the rugged and surging Indiana Pacers (28-34), Orlando will be trying to ``hit first’’ to avoid repeating what happened when it was last in Indiana on Nov. 28.
Indiana, one of the teams that Orlando is trying to catch for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, thumped the Magic 98-83 on Nov. 28. It was a game where the Pacers were much more physical – to the tune of a 48-28 advantage in paint points and an 18-2 edge in second-chance points. Indy was without Roy Hibbert – who is expected to play tonight despite a sinus infection – and still crushed the Magic 53-32 on the boards.
Borrego planned to remind his players of that game before taking the floor tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Part of his pep talk will also undoubtedly include the phrase ``hit first’’ as he wants Magic players to be aggressive and physical against the likes of David West, Ian Mahinmi and Hibbert.
``We’ll remind them (of the Nov. 28 game) and they’ll know what to expect tonight,’’ said Borrego, who is 6-6 since taking over as the team’s head coach. ``This is a very physical game and the boards will be major factor – it was last time and it will be again tonight. We need the same physical mentality, we have enough bodies and we’re not going to hold back.
``You want to be the aggressive team and that hit first mentality means we want to be the aggressive team from the start,’’ Borrego continued. ``You want to get off to a good start by establishing what kind of team you are going to be early on. That’s a major piece for a young team like ours.’’
Orlando won its past two games despite being severely short-handed, but it hopes to get some reinforcements back tonight in the form of center Nikola Vucevic, shooting guard Willie Green and point guard Luke Ridnour. Vucevic is Orlando’s leading scorer (19.7 ppg.) and rebounder (11.2 rpg.) and he will do battle with Hibbert and Mahinmi in the post, while Green’s toughness should come in handy against George Hill, C.J. Miles and Solomon Hill. Out the past two games with ankle soreness, Vucevic said he was ``pretty positive’’ that he would play tonight and he wants to come into the game with an edge.
``We have to be the aggressors and not let the other team take the game at us,’’ Vucevic said. ``When you hit first you take the other team out of their comfort zones. You can’t just sit back and let them run their plays the way that they want. So we have to be aggressive from the start.’’
Indiana, which is still without star forward Paul George because of a broken leg, has won five in a row and eight of 10 to surge into the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have beaten the Magic twice this season and four straight times in Indiana over the past two years.
Dewayne Dedmon, who notched career highs in points (11) and rebounds (16) in Sunday’s come-from-behind defeat of Boston, is expected to start again at power forward. Having the 7-footer in the lineup gives Orlando more size and more of a rim protector. Largely because of Dedmon’s activity and willing to do the dirty work, Orlando has been much better with him on the floor (91.5 points per 100 possessions) than when he is on the bench (105.3 points per 100 possessions). He knows that staying out of foul trouble – something that has been an issue of late – will be paramount against Hibbert and West.
``I feel like this will be a good test for me to see if I can avoid the silly fouls, stay out of foul trouble and stay on the floor for my team,’’ Dedmon said.
As for ``hitting first,’’ Dedmon said that he has absolutely no problem mixing it up on the inside. He knows that he has to be physical without fouling and he knows exactly Borrego means when he’s told to ``hit first.’’
``To me that means send a message,’’ Dedmon said. ``Don’t get punked out there, send a message that we’re here and be extremely physical.’’
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