Orlando Magic: Scott Skiles Shines In Preseason Loss

We have reached that time of the year now where the NBA regular season is on the horizon once more. Training camps have begun again, and for the most part the only roster spots available on teams at this point are the ones that players who were invited to camps will contest for. Lost in all of this, as it is every year, was the tipping off of the preseason friendlies between many of the franchises as well. Now, many people discredit these as nothing more than a waste of time, and that’s true on many levels.

But with this being the first occasion in a few months that we’ve had a chance to actually watch some of these guys play, it is also worth examining exactly what happened on the court. Even if these results have to be taken with more than a grain of salt. This is interesting if you’re an Orlando Magic fan, as their first preseason game wasn’t about how the players on the floor did. No, it was about the standout performance of their new head coach Scott Skiles.

Again we’ll plaster these words here one final time before pressing onwards. This was a meaningless preseason game with the main objective to play off some of the rust (Or pounds) accumulated during the extended offseason the Magic had. With no playoff run last year, it feels like a long time since we’ve seen these guys take to the court. So to watch them back out there together after all that time was cool.

What’s kind of ironic here then, is that Skiles’ approach to the game went completely against what you might expect, given that there was nothing on the line here. The Magic led the entire first half, going into the break 51-48. There is no need for a complete breakdown of those two quarters of basketball in a game that is already forgotten, but these are the key points. The Magic looked fluid offensively (Despite not having Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic) and had a better defensive mindset than we’ve seen in recent years.

All well and good, and the unusually high attendance at the game certainly appeared to appreciate the performance. The Hornets are a decent team with realistic ambitions of making the playoffs this season. They weren’t exactly going hard during the game, but both Jeremy Lin and Nicolas Batum looked good during the minutes they played. It was also somewhat relieving to see a Hornets player go down injured and not somebody in a Magic uniform.

Obviously you don’t wish injury of any kind on any player in this league, but given how Orlando has been unlucky with injuries in recent seasons (Aaron Gordon still remains sidelined and Victor Oladipo struggled with a couple of injuries to start last season) it was nice to come through the game unscathed. Back to the game itself though, and a second half in which Skiles showed the fans what kind of a coach he can be for this young team.

Put simply, the team suddenly gave up the defensive intensity on the defensive end that had gotten them the lead. On one hand you think that it’s ok, to not go too hard with the regular season now only weeks away. It’s an understandable approach, and one which more than a few players take at this time of year. Skiles did not look impressed though, so much so that after giving up the lead through bad defensive play alone, he benched his starters for essentially the remainder of the game.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/650455145491398657

In some ways this was a brave call because fans had come to see the more established players, Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Tobias Harris, as well as exciting rookie Mario Hezonja, put on a Magic uniform for the first time this season. Only Skiles didn’t really seem to care about that, and that’s a big positive going forward. By benching his more well-known players he was sending a message that even now, at this early stage, laziness on the defensive end will not be tolerated.

Some will say this was harsh treatment given the circumstances, and others still will say Skiles showed his hand too early by coming down with an iron fist in the first preseason game of the year. Personally though I like what he did here, and it seemed to get a reaction out of the players too. Oladipo, who himself had a good game for his team, seemed impressed with the no nonsense approach of his new head coach right off the bat.

“The thinking, the body language and the mentality – everything has to change,’’ Oladipo said. “(Skiles) has a new culture and we’re trying to develop a new culture around here. It starts with the players and we have to hold ourselves accountable with making that change.”

The Magic lost the game 106-100 and had their better players seen more action after the break, the outcome could have been different. Ultimately though, the result wasn’t important, but getting the players to buy into a defensive system certainly is. This move proves that nobody is safe from being sent to the bench if they take possessions off on that end once the season begins. For a young group with no real All-Star level player yet (Although Oladipo is heading that way) that kind of leadership is important.

One potentially interesting development off the back of this team wide benching will be what it takes to get Skiles to do something similar during the regular season with even one player. I say this because, as hard as he tries, Vucevic is just not a defensive minded center. Harris too can go missing on that end if he’s not getting touches of the ball and shots off offensively.

These are two of the Magic’s top five players, and in Vucevic’s case at least, being a high-level defender just may never come naturally to him. He led this team in scoring and rebounds last year though, and benching him if he’s being grilled on the defensive end could be a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face. That is to say, not wise at all when you consider all of the great things he can do for this team on the court.

Finally, the other key takeaway from this game was the performance of Andrew Nicholson. Criminally underused (Career average 15.3 minutes per game his first three years in the league with Orlando) especially given that he’s been a part of a rebuilding roster, Nicholson looked reborn out of the court. He led the team in scoring with 23 points in 21 minutes (Including going 9-14 from the field and knocking down a pair of three-point shots) and showed off a variety of moves in the low post as well.

If that kind of production continues, this team will have an extra, unexpected weapon on their hands come opening night. Giving Nicholson that opportunity is something else Skiles should be commended for, and it also makes you wonder what he could have done with Maurice Harkless had he been kept on the roster. For now though that’s two big, positive takeaways from one small, meaningless encounter. Nice start from the head coach with the reputation of pushing rebuilding teams back towards the postseason.

Next: 25 Best Players to Play for the Orlando Magic

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