Orlando Magic: 4 areas they need to build on for next season
By Luke Duffy
2. Defensive Rating
Although rebounding tells one area of this story, the Magic’s defensive rating tells a much uglier one. As of now, the team ranks 27th in defensive rating (108.8) and hasn’t gotten near league-average all season.
This is unacceptable for a supposedly young and hungry team, and even more so when you consider Frank Vogel, the defensive guru that he is, is the head coach.
On top of that, the team has notable defenders like Jonathon Simmons and decent rim protection in Biyombo and Birch as well. There really is no excuse to be this bad in this category, and getting to at least league-average next season is an absolute must.
The worst part of all though? Astonishingly, this is the worst rating the team has had in this category since its prolonged rebuild began.
Starting with the 2012-13 season, the Magic have ranked 25th, 18th, 25th, 17th and 24th in defensive rating.
Really think about that for a second. A team that gave Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour minutes, as well as the corpse of Jeff Green before the Cleveland Cavaliers revived him, was better defensively than the product that is currently on the floor.
With facts like that, it is little wonder this team is in the position that it is, and really this is the key to ensuring Orlando is more competitive next year.