Opponent Scouting: Orlando Magic. (31-25)
Tonight at 8:00pm EST the Detroit Pistons will be hosting the Magic of Orlando at the LCA. Both teams are on one day of rest with the Pistons having lost to the Pacers and the Magic beating the Cavaliers on Thursday. It is also the second game back from the all-star break for both teams.
The Them:
The Magic are unquestionably a great story for this season. They had cooled off a bit after a hot start but appeared to have stabilized to stay well above .500, which making a recovery like that as such a young team is impressive.
The Magic are a young team that is finding success in a non-young team way. They rank just 23rd in offensive rating (just 2 spots ahead of the Pistons) but sport the league’s 5th-best defense (compared to 29th for Detroit). Usually, young teams see their offense come along faster than the defense but some good coaching and sprinkling in of slightly older players that are dogs can bring out these types of results.
Former #1 overall pick Paolo Banchero remains the ring-leader here and he is stupendous. He could stand to get more efficient with his offensive game, but he’s huge, can pull for jumpers from anywhere, is comfortable putting the ball on the floor, and has excellent passing chops as well. He’s averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. The guy is an animal and a matchup nightmare. Fellow young wing Franz Wagner is the other main headliner for Orlando. Like Banchero Wagner is a big wing who can shoot from anywhere (although his 3-ball has not been falling this year at just 31.7%) who is also more than skilled and athletic enough to dribble into is own creations. Franz is not as natural a passer as Banchero but he’s still dishing 4.1 assist per game in addition to his 21 points so he’s far from a black-hole or ball-hog.
Jalen Suggs has found some consistency in his 3-point shot and is a terror on defense, he seems like he isn’t going to become more than a role-player on offense but he’s an excellent 3 and D guy. Wendell Carter Jr remains the unsung hero of this team. He’s a really good (and underrated) defender, who stretches the floor on offense and has just enough off-the-dribble umph to punish teams who slack off him too much defensively. Gary Harris is a bit of a NPC type of wing, the type of guy who does the 3 and D thing with enough effectiveness to not be an issue but also not so well that he stands out as all that good but he does his job on both ends as the 5th starter.
Moritz Wagner comes off the bench and continues to be a fairly effective stretch big off the bench, Anthony Black occasionally lays eggs on the offensive end of the floor but he’s hitting some shots and plays hard on defense, Jonathan Isaac is one of the most singular destructive defenders in the league, Cole Anthony is a classic bench spark-plug scoring guard, Joe Ingles is still exceptionally fun with his passing and shooting old-man game.
This is a good team, they are still in need of a reliable starting point-guard but they defend and have real offensive talent when the winning time comes. Time will tell if they can take the step from “spooky” to contender but they seem well on their way.
Matchups to watch:
Quentin Grimes vs. Playing: Its easy to forget this since Grimes is one of about a dozen 6’5ish 3-and D(ish) wings that the Pistons acquired in trades, but he should be the most important and valuable addition by a pretty wide margin. It will be interesting to see how he is used if he does play and would be great to see him get off to a strong start.
Pistons vs. Offensive flow: The Magic’s defensive strength starts with their absurd size all over the place. Their entire starting lineup has plus size at their position and they are athletic. It is exactly the sort of defense than can quickly turn lazy passes into transition opportunities and and will snuff out offensive actions that are not executed crisply. The Pistons could easily fall into a hole by alternating between puking up ugly isolation shots and turnovers.
The Pistons vs. Monty Williams: I don’t even know what to say anymore. This is one of the most comically inept coaching jobs I have seen in any sport.
Cade vs. Building: I still felt like his last outing wasn’t as good as the numbers suggest but it was certainly a nice start to the second half of the season. Just keep stacking numbers on the stat-sheet to keep proving what he’s capable of.
Duren vs. Carter: Once again Jalen Duren has to deal with a big-man who can pull him out of the paint. Also of concern here is that, while Duren is generally a more physical player than Wendell Carter, Duren does not really have a size advantage so it might be challenging for him to try and punish Carter.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
The Pistons have double-digit turnovers in the first quarter.
15 Pistons have checked into the game in the first half.
Wendell Carter is raining open 3s while the Pistons keep pointing at each other.
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
Cade keeps scoring.
The Magic offense gets bogged down in too many isolations.
Quentin Grimes makes a big first impression.
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
Ivey scores 30, Cade is still solid.
There are more than 33 total turnovers in the game.
The Pistons bench has a hot shooting night.
Pistons 112 - Magic 109.