What To Do Today
Magic face Knicks at Amway Center
Come see what lineup coach Scott Skiles uses when your Orlando Magic host the New York Knicks and their rookie big man Kristaps Porzingis, who is creating plenty of buzz in the Big Apple with his strong early-season play. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Amway Center.
Scott Skiles is a quick study, so it didn’t take long for the first-year Magic coach to possibly begin “searching” for a new starting five.
After just 14 games, Skiles publicly has arrived at this juncture of discovery, a place where so many of us already have been.
He’s promptly finding out why the Magic have lost so much the past few years, learn- ing in increments, although the starless roster should have provided clues.
Skiles now has resorted to playing the lineup card, hoping a possible change might solve some familiar issues and trigger an awakening.
After the Magic’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, he volunteered, “It’s time
to change the lineup.” Skiles wasn’t as adamant after Tuesday’s practice, saying, “We may do something.”
He wouldn’t divulge what he might do, adding, “I don’t see any reason to tip off the opponent.”
The next opponent is the New York Knicks tonight, and nobody use to worry about tipping them off. But the 8-7 Knicks suddenly don’t resemble last season’s 17-win abomination while the 6-8 Magic might be lapsing into their old sorry selves. No wonder Skiles wants any edge he can get.
Skiles wants to cut off as much backsliding as possible, thus the prospect of a dramatic change and some wounded egos.
“We’re trying to find a little bit better balance between our first and second units, how we maximize everybody,” he said. “We don’t want to be constantly searching during the course of a game. We need some consistency.”
So what might Skiles do?
To me, it doesn’t appear he can bench center Nik Vucevic, Tobias Harris or Evan Fournier. Fournier has been the Magic’s best player while Vooch and Harris are paid well to be foundational pieces.
Skiles could remove cold-shooting point guard Elfrid Payton, although smallish backup Shabazz Napier can’t defend like Payton.
He could very well bring starting shooting guard Victor Oladipo off the bench and make him a sixth man.
The domino effect of that move would then send small forward Fournier into Oladipo’s spot and return power forward Harris to his natural small-forward position.
Power forward — the position the Magic have struggled to solidify — would then be manned by Channing Frye, Aaron Gordon, Jason Smith or Andrew Nicholson.
Skiles said he’ll rely on feel, game-tape and analytics to make his decision if he pulls a switch.
According to NBA.com, the Magic were better with Oladipo out of the lineup when he missed two-plus games with concussion-like symptoms.
With Frye at power forward — along with Elfrid Payton at point guard, Fournier at shooting guard, Harris at small forward and Nik Vucevic at center — Orlando shot 50.9 percent from the field, 47 percent from 3-point range and were a plus-19 on the floor.
It’s a small sample size, but teams draw from this kind of data.
Oladipo’s jumper desperately needs a GPS. He is shooting 37 percent overall and 26 percent from the 3-point line.
Oladipo might be best suited for the sixth-man role with his high energy. Skiles also said he could tweak the lineup to start the third quarter to address the Magic’s sluggish ways after intermission.
Frye is 32, but hasn’t lost his touch, shooting 48 percent. But it was a disaster defensively last season when he was paired with Vooch, so hmmmm. Gordon can guard bigs and smalls, but it seems Skiles doesn’t trust the 20-year-old fully.
Skiles has to know that the Magic’s well is only so deep. He said if he goes in a different direction, it wouldn’t be for just a game or two.
“We’d have to do it, commit to it for a while and see how it works,” he said.
If this and other alterations this season don’t work, Skiles’ next move might be breaking the news to GM Rob Hennigan that the team he has assembled needs to change. And soon.