Magic Defense 'Locking In' at Right Time; Playoff Run Coming?

The Orlando Magic has the 20th-best defensive rating in the league. But that number is misleading when looking at how the defense is improving.

Jeremy Brener | Feb 11, 2023

Magic Defense 'Locking In' at Right Time; Playoff Run Coming? /

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is figuring things out on the defensive end of the ball.

Over the last 10 games, the Magic rank eighth in the league in defensive rating and have held each of its last two opponents to 105 points.

Against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, the team forced 16 turnovers which led to 22 points for the Magic. Teams who can use their defense to generate offense helps separate the good from the great.

"That’s just why we’ve been excelling so good, because we’ve just been focused on getting a whole bunch of defensive stops and that’s just been leading to our offense," Bol Bol said. "I feel like we’ve been meshing a lot better game by game.”

While the Magic hold the league's 20th-best defensive rating, Orlando has improved as the season has progressed. After the team bottomed out to a 5-20 start, the team has gone 18-13 in its last 31 games.

“As a unit, we’re just really locking in the defensive end," Cole Anthony said. "We’ve just made it a point for us to just try and guard the best we can and kind of let our defense spark our offense. When we can get stops, that gives us momentum as a team and it allows us to get out and run. That’s what we really want to do. At the same time also, I think we’ve been really trying to pack that paint in. I think we’re just doing a really good job as a unit. It’s good stuff.”

While the team still ranks 13th in the Eastern Conference and is outside the playoff picture, if the defense continues to progress at the rate it is going, the Magic may find itself on the inside of the play-in picture at season's end.

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Published Feb 11, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.