DETROIT – As their players and coaches predicted when they resembled a team that couldn’t shoot straight early in the season, the Orlando Magic’s offense eventually came around and proved itself quite potent over the past seven games.
What the Magic never would have predicted, however, would be the slippages that have occurred defensively with a unit they feel has the talent, size and potential to be elite.
Proof of Orlando’s about-face offensively and defensively lies in the raw data from two drastically different stretches of the season. Over the first eight games of the season (a 2-6 start), the Magic managed to stay afloat with the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating (101 points allowed per 100 possessions) by somewhat masking the league’s 29th-ranked offensive rating (103.