ORLANDO – To pinpoint the biggest reason why the suddenly surging Orlando Magic have won three straight games to play their way back into the playoff race, consider this: Their defensive rating over the past week is not only first in the NBA, but it’s a whopping 9.2 points better than the next closest team.
The Magic (34-38) haven’t just beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans of late, they have smothered, suffocated and shut them down in dominant fashion. Orlando’s stellar defense allowed it to build leads as large as 32 and 35 points on the Cavaliers and Pelicans and it held the high-scoring Hawks to their lowest output in more than a month.
After the Magic’s 119-96 demolition of the Pelicans on Wednesday there were two comments, in particular, that summed up the defensive dominance on display of late at the Amway Center.
``We’ve got some really talented guys on the defensive end and we’re all tied together. When you put the system, the talent and the technique all together, it’s starting to come together,’’ Magic forward Aaron Gordon said after holding New Orleans forward Julius Randle to one-of-nine shooting with six turnovers. ``We’re just tied together, and I truly feel like we’re one of the best defensive teams in the league. I’m proud of us that we’ve gone out there and showed it.’’
Then, there was this from befuddled Pelicans’ coach Alvin Gentry, referring to Wednesday’s beatdown and the Magic’s 118-88 victory in New Orleans last month: ``Our worst two losses this year has been against (the Magic), really. They’ve both been 30-point games. … I’m really not sure why we can’t match up with this (Orlando) team. And I’m not real sure why we can’t seem to score against this team. Two of our lowest-scoring games have been against this team.’’
Orlando hopes to continue its dominant ways on Friday and exact a bit of revenge against the Memphis Grizzlies (29-42) in the process. Ten days ago in Memphis, the Magic led by seven with three minutes remaining only to lose 105-97 after surrendering a 17-2 Grizzlies’ run to close the game.
Like Orlando, Memphis is one of the NBA’s best defensive teams, and in point guard Mike Conley, the Grizzlies possess one of the game’s greatest closers. He ranks 15th in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring (6.2 points per game). Conley had 35 points and eight assists on Wednesday, allowing Memphis to overcome James Harden’s 57-point outburst and win in overtime.
A win over Memphis would allow Orlando to push its record to 4-0 on this five-game home stand. The Magic have gone 9-1 in their last 10 home games and at 21-16 in the Amway Center on the season, they have clinched their first winning season at home in since the 2015-16 season (23-18). Also, Orlando is well aware that every game is critical now with them coming into Thursday trailing No. 8 Miami by 1½ games and No. 7 Brooklyn by 2½ games in the race for a playoff bid.
``It would be huge if we could defend home court before we hit the road,’’ said center Nikola Vucevic, referring to upcoming home games against Memphis (Friday) and Philadelphia (Monday) prior to starting a four-game road trip next week in Miami (Tuesday). ``We need to do that – we need to take care of these games at home. We need to focus on Memphis because they beat us there. They’re a good team, they’ve been playing better and they’re very tough defensively.’’
The Magic are also very tough defensively, ranking seventh in the NBA this season in overall defensive rating (107.0 points allowed per 100 possessions). Each of the six teams ahead of the Magic in that category is locked firmly into playoff position and they are hopeful that their success in smothering foes will eventually get them to the postseason as well.
It’s only common sense that teams play better in their wins than they do in their losses, but with the Magic those numbers are often dramatically different. In its 34 wins this season, Orlando ranks first in the NBA in overall defensive rating (99.7), but it gives up 13.9 more points in the 38 losses (113.6 defensive rating, eighth in the NBA). Similarly, the Magic have stellar numbers in field goal percentage allowed (41.2 percent, third in the NBA), 3-point percentage allowed (29.7 percent, first in the NBA), rebounding (47.5, 17th in the NBA) and blocked shots (6.2, fifth in the NBA) in their 34 victories. Not surprisingly, those numbers plunge in the 38 losses (field goal percentage allowed 47.9 percent, 11th in the NBA; 3-point percentage allowed 39 percent, 20thin the NBA; rebounding 43.4, 18th in the NBA; and blocked shots 4.9, 11th in the NBA.
Against New Orleans on Wednesday, the Magic forced the Pelicans into missed shots on 13 of their first 14 shots. Orlando held a 65-49 rebounding edge and swatted 10 shots, led by Jonathan Isaac’s four stuffs, Vucevic’s three blocks and a solo swat by new acquisition, Michael Carter-Williams. It’s no coincidence that two of Orlando’s best defensive performances of the season have come with Carter-Williams – whom Magic head Steve Clifford calls ``one of the best perimeter defenders I’ve ever coached’’ – on the floor.
Evan Fournier, one of Orlando’s best on-ball defenders all season, feels the Magic’s biggest area of improvement on the season has been their stinginess and toughness on the defensive end of the floor.
``Overall, we’ve been good (defensively) lately,’’ said Fournier, whose Magic have held their last three foes to 39.8 percent shooting (second in the NBA over the last week) and 25 percent accuracy from 3-point range (first in the league). ``We’ve been locked in, having ball pressure and being physical.’’
Some two weeks ago, when the Magic sat at No. 9 in the NBA in overall defensive rating, Clifford bluntly told the squad that while impressive, that statistic likely wouldn’t be good enough to get the squad into the playoffs. Clifford’s message was this: The path to reaching the postseason will center around Orlando being one of the two or three best defensive squads in all the NBA.
Thus far, at least, the Magic have responded with their most suffocating defense at a time when they needed it most. Fournier, for one, gives much of the credit for the steady defensive improvement to the hard-nosed, no-excuses mantra set forth by Clifford, who has been regarded as something of a defensive guru for years at the NBA level.
``I’d definitely say the defense, for sure,’’ Fournier said when asked about his team’s biggest area of improvement. ``It kind of takes time to understand the way that (Clifford) wants us to play, his defense and his system. But now it’s kind of becoming almost automatic. So, we’ve really gotten better defensively, for sure.
``We always say that a team plays like the coach, mentally, but (Clifford) definitely has a strong personality, he’s tough and is a tough-minded coach,’’ Fournier added. ``It kind of fades onto us, for sure.’’
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