Orlando Magic: 5 New Year’s resolutions for this team
By Luke Duffy
4. Actually create an indentity
The Magic began this season with many believing they would be a top-10 defensive team, especially with head coach Frank Vogel in charge.
That went out the window when the team started the campaign so well, at one point actually leading the league in offensive rating.
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Once they regressed in that area (102.7, 24th in the league), their defense should have stepped up. Except it never did.
At the beginning of November, the Magic were hanging around league average in this category, but they’ve also slipped to 24th here too (107.7).
The team really shouldn’t be struggling so badly in this area though, with guys like Simmons, Jonathan Isaac and Bismack Biyombo all capable defenders on a nightly basis.
Given that center Nikola Vucevic is likely to miss close to two months with a bone break in his hand, now is the perfect time to build around Biyombo’s rim-protecting play.
Not only would it see the team improve defensively, it could be the primary building block with which next season is built on. It may also make Vucevic expendable in the long run too.