By John DentonOct. 28, 2015
ORLANDO – An Orlando Magic defense that was dramatically re-tooled by new coach Scott Skiles and one that showed tremendous progress all throughout the preseason will be put to the test right away tonight in the regular-season opener at the Amway Center.
Skiles made defensive improvement a priority from the first day that he was hired back in late May, and the Magic responded in the preseason with some tangible gains. During a 6-2 preseason where the Magic won their last five games, they ranked fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed, seventh in 3-point percentage allowed and 10th in total defensive efficiency.
But that was the preseason and tonight’s foe – the Washington Wizards – have long been a nemesis of the Magic. Washington has beaten the Magic in each of the last eight meetings and that was before they turned star guard John Wall loose and led the NBA in scoring (112.3 ppg.) this preseason.
The game, which tips off just after 7 p.m., should be a great gauge for Orlando’s defensive improvement and its ability to stand tough against a team that has pushed them around for two seasons.
“They’ve just punked us, plain and simple,” Magic standout guard Victor Oladipo said. “They’ve played harder than us and they punked us over the years. So we’ve got to be ready to play tonight.”
Skiles, who played for the Magic from 1989-94 as a crafty point guard, was hired to instill mental and physical toughness in a young squad that has mostly been pushed around over the past three years. Skiles has been pleased with how the Magic players have embraced change in how he wants things done and with the work that the team has put in over the past five weeks of training camp and the exhibition season.
This, however, is a much different test for the Magic especially considering the quality of the opponent across the way. Skiles, for one, is anxious to see the Magic’s mettle tonight in the face of a quality opponent in what should be an electric atmosphere before a sold-out crowd.
“We’ve been a good preparation team and a good practice team and now we’ll find out (if they are ready),” Skiles said. “I don’t know if (Wall) is the fastest, but he’s among the fastest guys in the league. Like a lot of teams, they are making a point of emphasis – even after made baskets – to get (Wall) the ball and push it up quickly. So it’s a challenge for us and not something that we could simulate in practice. We’ll have to try and corral him the best that we can and make him pass the ball.”
Orlando got some good news on Wednesday when Elfrid Payton passed his final test with his injured hamstring and he will start at point guard. Last season, Payton finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting and he was the only Magic player to appear in all 82 games.
It will primarily be the job of Payton – a guard who specializes in defense – to shadow Wall, and Oladipo is delighted one of his best friends on the team is available to play again. Payton missed the final five games of the preseason because of persistent pain in his right leg, but he’s looked good in practice the past three days.
“It’s good to have him back because I know he’s always running with me,” Oladipo said. “I’ve got his back and I know he has mine. It’s always great to have somebody like that out there with you.”
Tobias Harris, who signed a four-year contract extension with the Magic over the summer, is excited that Orlando will be able to display all of the hard work that the team has put in over the last five weeks of camp. Harris has battled a stomach bug and a cold for much of the past week, but he will be in the starting lineup and he cracked on Wednesday morning, “if I’m playing, I’m 100 percent.”
“I always have butterflies no matter what game it is,” said Harris, who is entering hi fifth NBA season. “It’s going to be a good feeling. Once we get out there and start having fun, it’s going to be a good feeling for all of us.”
Skiles has said one of the biggest keys in the Magic being a better defensive team is having center Nikola Vucevic be more of a factor with his physicality and contesting shots at the rim. Vucevic, Orlando’s leading scorer and rebounder last season and this preseason, has been much more active with his positioning and aggressive with his contests thus far.
Vucevic likely will be under pressure all night considering that Washington’s Wall and big men Marcin Gortat and Nene run the pick-and-roll almost as well as any team in the NBA. Wall’s speed off the pick and ability to finish with either hand is often trouble for opposing big men, while Gortat and Nene usually roll hard to the rim for lobs and layups.
Vucevic knows that the Magic must ply much better defensively starting tonight if the team is going to make some major strides this season.
“It’s a team that we’ve struggled with the last couple years and they are a good team that made a good run in the playoffs last year,” Vucevic said of the Wizards. “They’ve been playing at a much faster pace than they have before and this will be a great test for us – especially with the transition defense. That’s something we didn’t do great in the past, but for us to see where we are we’ll have to be better at that. We can’t go out there and try and outscore them; we have to try and stop them.”
