Are The Orlando Magic Turning A Corner In 2015-16?

The Defensive End

In addition to being a top-10 defensive team, the scary thing is that this Magic team is still learning. Skiles has always been known as a defensive-minded coach, but the rapid turnaround shouldn’t just be credited to him with the roster sporting so many promising, moldable defenders.

The Magic certainly have the talent and length to be an elite defensive team. Despite his inability to shoot the ball from beyond 15 feet, Elfrid Payton is a gifted and tenacious defender who seems to revel in hounding opposing guards up and down the floor.

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When Eric Bledsoe showed signs of frustration with Payton’s defensive pressure Wednesday night and shoved off to free himself for a simple inbounds pass in his own backcourt, Payton only backed off long enough to bare a wide grin in response. After that, he was right back up in his personal space, stalling Phoenix from initiating its offense for a few crucial seconds.

Nikola Vucevic has never been known for his toughness or interior defense, developing his reputation as a nightly double-double threat with the skill to shoot from the perimeter and the finesse to score against stronger bigs around the basket.

But according to NBA.com, Vucci Mane is holding opponents to 57.7 percent shooting on shots from less than six feet this season. That may not seem like a great percentage, but considering it’s 2.9 percent less efficient than what those opponents would normally shoot on such shots, the Magic are more than willing to take that kind of improvement from quite possibly their worst defender.

We’d be remiss in failing to mention Tobias Harris’ defensive effort (improving from a 106.7 defensive rating last year to 100.1 this year), Aaron Gordon’s stud potential once he gets fully healthy or the way that Evan Fournier has found the energy for stout defense while also leading the team in scoring.

Hell, even Shabazz Napier has seemed to flourish off the bench by doing his best Elfrid Payton impression, getting up in everyone’s chest whenever he’s on the floor.

All in all, this is a vastly improved defensive team under Skiles, which is laying the foundation for the future once the offense comes around. Coming off an ugly 85-74 win in Denver, Skiles was quick to point out that sticking to his personnel’s strength is the key to success in the early stages of this rebuild.

“Last night was a really ugly game, but in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter the guys tightened up the defense and we were able to get out of there with the win,” he said. “That’s precisely why we have that emphasis on that side of the ball is for the nights when maybe we’re a little casual with the ball, turning it over, missing shots.”

Next: To The Victor Goes The Spoils (Of The Bench)