Just like looking in the mirror
DETROIT — Although the Magic will only play Detroit one more time this season after Wednesday night, they’ll likely have an eye on the Pistons the rest of the way.
And in many ways, it’s kind of like looking in a mirror.
Neck and neck with the Pistons on the fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, both teams are headlined by high-flying physical specimens in the process of refining their overall games and led by well-respected veteran coaches with something to prove for their new teams.
“I think that we have similar philosophy: Balanced play,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said of Detroit's Dwane Casey. “I think that it starts with obviously establishing a defensive mentality, that’s what we’re both trying to do.”
But the comparisons don’t stop just with Clifford and Casey, or with Aaron Gordon and Blake Griffin.
Both franchises are former stalwarts of the Eastern Conference that have fallen on hard times. Each season from 2003-2010, either Detroit or Orlando made the Eastern Conference finals. Since that run ended, the Magic have not won a playoff series, while the Pistons have not won a playoff game since 2008.
Clifford and Casey are the latest coaches to try and reset the franchises, who both had Stan Van Gundy at their helm with varying degrees of success. They, along with Van Gundy, were fired this offseason by Eastern Conference teams: Clifford by Charlotte and Casey by Toronto after unanimously winning Coach of the Year.
The results defensively have been similar, with Detroit ranked 13th leaguewide in defensive rating and Orlando 14th heading into Wednesday, according to NBA.com's metrics. Offensively it’s been slower, with the Pistons rated 23rd and Orlando 26th.
Clifford said getting that balance on both ends is the key toward maintaining success.
“If you look at [Casey's] teams in Toronto, I believe, the last three years, were top seven in both offense and defense,” he said. “Our best year in Charlotte, we were ninth in offense, top 10 in both, and that’s what wins in the league.”
Both coaches have been hampered by bad bench play as of late, with Orlando struggling to find consistency backing up point guard D.J. Augustin. Detroit turned to veteran Jose Calderon recently to backup Reggie Jackson, while usual reserve Ish Smith was out with injury.
The Pistons went 5-14 during Smith’s absence, but the former Orlando guard returned Monday for Detroit in a loss at Utah.
Augustin is another of the shared threads for the franchises, as he averaged 20.3 points over a 10-game stretch in his lone season in Detroit, resulting in a trade deadline deal as part of a package to Oklahoma City for Jackson in 2015.
Which brings us to another shared question for the franchises as the Feb. 7 trade deadline looms: Will they be buyers or sellers?
Orlando’s best basketball hopes are still in the future, but the front office has to weigh days ahead with a legitimate chance of making the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. Similarly, will Detroit’s front office attempt to capitalize on Griffin’s All-Star level play to juice a flawed roster for a playoff push in a vulnerable East?
“As a player, it can be stressful at times, it can be hard. A lot of worrying,” said Augustin, who was dealt again at the deadline in 2016 from Oklahoma City to Denver. “Personally, I don’t even think about it anymore, I don’t worry about it. Whatever happens, happens. It’s a business, you just have to be prepared for anything in this league.”
Making those decisions for Orlando are team president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond. Weltman worked one season under Hammond in Detroit, where Hammond previously helped Joe Dumars construct the 2004 NBA championship team.
The team’s highest paidplayers are former slam dunk contest stars going through various stages of reinvention. Griffin is a fivetime All-Star who entered Wednesday with 24 3-point attempts over the previous two games. The former Los Angeles Clippers high-flyer averaged 25.8 3-point attempts over his first six seasons. Gordon has upped his own assist totals each season, and seen his 3-point percentage rise every season but one in his five-year career.
“He’s just playing a lot smarter,” Augustin said. “He’s not just going out there and playing off his God-given ability, he’s actually going out there and thinking the game more, watching more film and trying to play within the schemes. It’s just making him a whole different player.
“I know AG wants to be great and Blake is a great player as well, so they both work very hard and the sky is a limit for both those guys.”
The team's similarities have shown head-to-head, splitting two down-to-the wire games as Evan Fournier’s Dec. 30 gamewinner in Orlando evened the season series heading into Wednesday. The teams will complete the season series March 28 in Detroit, as Orlando closes the regular season with six of its last eight games on the road.
It’s an uphill climb into the East's top eight for both teams, but Cliiford likes what he sees in his new locker room.
“Wanting to win in this league, and I know it sounds crazy, is a big deal,” Clifford said. “And the number of guys that you have in your locker room that really, really want to win is one of the most important team characteristics that you can have.
“We have a group here ... these guys battle and want to win.”