By John Denton
Oct. 28, 2016
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Already forced to learn how to play together and comprehend a new coach’s system at warp speed, the Orlando Magic had matters further complicated during the preseason by the sporadic absences of some key players.
Predictably, the results were not what the Magic were looking for in a 2-5 exhibition season.
Similarly, Orlando was without key cog Bismack Biyombo in Wednesday night’s regular-season-opener and its defense suffered greatly in a frustrating 108-96 loss to the rival Miami Heat.
Tonight, Biyombo is back and the Magic’s hope is that by having the 6-foot-9, 255-pound enforcer in the middle it will allow them to be better defensively and defeat the Pistons in suburban Detroit.
``He’s a middle linebacker defensively,’’ said new Magic coach Frank Vogel. ``He’s the guy who is not just doing his job, but he’s making sure everybody is doing their job. He’s a great communicator, he’s forceful with his voice and he’s a vet who has been around and seen all of the coverages. He’s going to really, really enhance our defense.’’
Orlando yielded a staggering 74 points in the paint on Wednesday. Of Miami’s 37 baskets in the paint, 13 were dunks, 13 were layups and three were tip-ins. Particularly troubling was the fact that the Heat scored 24 of their first 27 points in the paint and they embarrassed the Magic with seven dunks in the fourth quarter alone.
Nikola Vucevic, the Magic’s longest-tenured player, said the team’s spirits are still extremely high despite the disappointing result in the season-opener. The 7-footer said that Vogel took the squad out to dinner on Thursday night in suburban Detroit for a team-bonding session and the group is still very confident that the season ahead will be a great one.
``I think the spirit is good,’’ said Vucevic, who had 17 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday. ``Obviously we were disappointed that we lost the opener at home, but we understand that it’s going to take time for us to be where we want to be. But the spirits are up and guys are keeping a positive mindset. But at the same time we realize that we have to take this thing seriously and fix the issues so we can get on a winning streak. We’re ready to go tonight and get a win.’’
Enter Biyombo, Orlando’s prized free-agent acquisition because of his ability to swat shots, be physical at the rim and generally deter drives down the paint with his muscle and hustle. The big man was forced to miss Wednesday’s season-opener because of a NBA-mandated suspension after he was whistled for three flagrant fouls in the playoffs last spring while playing for the Toronto Raptors.
Biyombo’s impact will only be minimal if the Magic can’t improve on their ability to stay in front of opposing wing players with the ball. Detroit’s players tend to rely more on 3-point shots than drives to the rim, but they will undoubtedly try and probe the Magic defense following their Game 1 struggles with stopping the ball.
``It’s really got to be a team defense, but it starts with individually stopping your guy,’’ said Magic shooting guard Evan Fournier, who scored 20 points in Wednesday’s opener, but he struggled with his shot. ``When you have trust that help is behind you, it’s a different (mindset). But that’s a part of building what we want to have here. It’s going to take time, but our defense (tonight versus the Pistons) starts with stopping your guy.’’
Serge Ibaka, Biyombo and Vucevic will likely have their hands full tonight with Detroit center Andre Drummond, one of the league’s most physically imposing players because of his combination of size and quickness.
Drummond, who also signed a massive deal over the summer, could be playing with a purpose after the Pistons were throttled inside in a 109-91 loss in Toronto on Wednesday. The Pistons got outrebounded 51-40, they gave up 54 points in paint and they were unable to deny DeMar DeRozan (40 points) and Jonas Valanciunas (32 points) from getting point-blank looks.
``It’s a matchup for any team (facing Drummond) and it’s similar to what we faced versus Miami,’’ Vucevic said. ``Mostly it’s about containing the ball and we have to do a better job with that tonight. We have to make sure we stop Drummond on the rolls and when we help we have to still keep him off the boards, as well.’’
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