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Orlando Magic : 3 reasons they can win their games at home

By Luke Duffy

Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford talks to the team in the final seconds against the Toronto Raptors during Game 2 in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The Raptors won, 111-82, to even the series. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images)
Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford talks to the team in the final seconds against the Toronto Raptors during Game 2 in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The Raptors won, 111-82, to even the series. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images) /
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(Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
(Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

2. Turn up the defensive intensity again

Being an elite team defensively was what got the Magic into the playoffs, but Game 2 saw them slip on this end, allowing 111 points on 48.3 percent shooting from the field. The Raptors deserve a lot of credit for this. They have so many talented players across multiple positions that it’ss hard to contain them.

Two games is a tiny sample size, and the Magic are playing against one of the favorites to make it out of the East. But of the 16 teams in the postseason, their defensive rating of 111 puts them ninth. Now that they are at home, and they have to try and limit the Raptors a good deal more in this area.

Under 100 points in both games should be the goal, and they can do this by building on their impressive defense at the 3-point line. The Raptors are only making 32.4 percent of their shots from deep this series, putting the Magic sixth in this category. Even better, the Raptors are only holding them to 36.5 percent.

The defensive end is where the Magic can win games, but offensively they were awful in Game 2 They had too many wayward passes, with everybody other than Aaron Gordon and Ross looking comfortable making something happen on that end. Tightening up defensively like they are capable of doing, and it will give them more wiggling room offensively to make mistakes.

Again this is where their underrated depth can play a role, with Carter-Williams being a much better option to get stops than starting point guard D.J. Augustin. In Game 1, Augustin’s 25 points and savvy offensive play, not to mention hitting the game-winning shot, were huge for the Magic.

But in game two he failed to get going, and with no real offensive output at just nine points, his defensive inefficiencies were highlighted even more. Even by point guard’s standards, Augustin is small, with guys like Leonard and Pascal Siakam able to run over him easily. Hiding him on Danny Green helps, but he moves without the ball so well and is such a threat from deep that Augustin does little to slow him down either.

There’s no way the Magic won’t turn it up another gear defensively in Games 3 and 4. They’re at home, and coach Clifford will be eager for them to put forward the kind of effort that was so evident in Game 1 and has gotten them this far.