By John Denton
Dec. 22, 2016
NEW YORK – The Orlando Magic raised the defensive bar this season for Nikola Vucevic by acquiring shot-swatters Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo and hiring defensive guru Frank Vogel as head coach.
Thus far, the 7-foot center has responded in a big way by playing some of the best defense of his NBA career. In fact, Orlando’s double-overtime defeat of the Miami Heat on Tuesday likely wouldn’t have been possible without Vucevic’s attention to detail on the defensive end of the floor.
Facing a stacked New York Knicks team that has been especially good at Madison Square Garden this season, the Magic will likely need a strong defensive night from Vucevic and his teammates.
``Absolutely,’’ coach Frank Vogel said when asked if his Magic would have lost Tuesday night without Vucevic’s defense. ``he’s played well on that end of the floor. I continue to challenge him to play well to work on his angles and he’s got to take pride on that end of the floor. … I’ve been very impressed with Vooch’s defense this year. (Miami center Hassan) Whiteside did have it rolling, and Vooch did a good job on him down the stretch.’’
Orlando (13-17) is one of the East’s best road teams, while New York (15-13) is one of the conference’s top teams at home. Following Tuesday’s 136-130 double-overtime beating of Miami, the Magic are are 8-7 on the road this season with wins in San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Detroit and Atlanta. The Knicks are 10-4 at Madison Square Garden and have won three of four here, including Tuesday’s 118-118 rally past the Indiana Pacers.
Whiteside battered the Magic for 32 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots on Tuesday, but most of it came before Vucevic started checking him on the defensive end of the floor. In the fourth quarter and the two overtime periods, the Miami center scored only five points on just two-of-six shooting.
Offensively, Vucevic carried the Magic for long stretches by scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and swatting two shots. Many of his 11 field goals were jump shots – something that also helped the Magic by pulling Whiteside away from the rim.
It was the defensive work that Vucevic was proud of on Tuesday – something that he’ll need to try and duplicate tonight against Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingas and the Knicks.
``I took a lot of pride in defense because (Whiteside) was playing really well,’’ Vucevic said. ``I was just trying to limit him as much as I can. He’s a big dude, so it’s tough to do. But I thought late in the game, as a team, we did a good job of limiting him because I couldn’t do it by myself. I tried to limit him, but there were times when teammates came in to swipe at the ball.
``(Defense) is just about me improving and I always thought it was stuff that I could improve upon,’’ he said. ``I just try to keep adding stuff to my game and I think that’s what you have to do in this league to stay at a high level. All the best players add something and come back better. Defense is a big part of being a good basketball team and that’s one of the areas that I needed to improve upon.’’
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