biggest factor for defensive drop off this season?

[Penny Hardaway's Ghost]

Our defense is bad ATM, personally I think we'll adjust and be alright once we get our guys back, no "sky is falling" for me right now, I am hurt by that loss last night thought. I just wanted wanted to assemble a poll with some general statements made over the past week or so to get a feel for what the community thinks the big contributor is...

[Penny Hardaway's Ghost]

Our defense is bad ATM, personally I think we'll adjust and be alright once we get our guys back, no "sky is falling" for me right now, I am hurt by that loss last night thought. I just wanted wanted to assemble a poll with some general statements made over the past week or so to get a feel for what the community thinks the big contributor is...

[Sir Raven]

I think they were worried cuz 3 of there teammates were out

[NickAnderson]

I voted for former players, because Lee was our best on-ball defender. And some people dont wanna hear this but Hedo was a decent defender because of his size. Even with all the players we have now come back all healthy we still lack someone like Lee.

[Osprey]

This is easily because we have 5 new players. Offense is the easiest thing to gel, because we added very good offensive players this offseason. Defense is much, much tougher because we run very complicated systems and in order for it to work all players must know every responsibility and every adjustment assignment.

 

Our offensive scheme is incredibly simple compared to our defensive scheme.

 

The Magic Offense consists of multiple pick and rolls (easy to perform) and shooting when you are open (once again, easy). Even if you don't know the offense you can always dump it into Dwight and clear out.

[magicfan83]

JJ playing 30 minutes a night, duh.

 

 

I kid, I kid.

[magicLA]

I think its a combination of Rashard being out and new players...full commitment from the players will not come until everyone knows what their role is going to be - and until Lewis is inserted into the rotation at either sf or pf no one knows...in the meantime everyone is in flux creating uninspired and inconsistent defense. Even though these games count, as a fan it feels like the season won't really begin until Rashard is back and then we can asses what the problems are - I imagine the players might feel the same way.

[TheREALBrooksThompson]

I can't vote because there is no option for what I think the problem is.

 

Last year's team did not start the season as the best defensive team in the league. The defense had to be worked on throughout the season and it slowly got better and better.

 

Furthermore, it wasn't the personnel (aside from Dwight) that made the team so good on defense. It was the system put in place around Dwight. So far this year, that system has been impossible to implement because of all the missing people. We have guys who, out of necessity, are attempting to play roles they have no business playing.

 

What we're seeing right now is not what this team is all about. We're seeing what happens when you take away key pieces for extended periods of time. Yeah, we all got excited after the preseason because the team is so deep. But depth doesn't mean that your team can beat other NBA teams with its bench. It just means that there isn't a complete drop off when your starters go out of the game to get some rest. Right now the team has absolutely no depth because it's missing two starters and a third player who is supposed to be starting in the absence of one of the starters already missing.

 

I know what the counter to this is: "Rashard and Vince aren't very good defenders and Anderson is a horrible defender. So getting them back won't help the defense." But it will help the defense. As we saw last year, it's very possible for the whole to be more than the sum of its parts. This year will be no different, we just have to get all the parts together first.

 

Let's wait until everyone plays together, then we can evaluate what the problems are.

[GhostAnime]

quote:

This is easily because we have 5 new players. Offense is the easiest thing to gel, because we added very good offensive players this offseason. Defense is much, much tougher because we run very complicated systems and in order for it to work all players must know every responsibility and every adjustment assignment.

 

Our offensive scheme is incredibly simple compared to our defensive scheme.

 

The Magic Offense consists of multiple pick and rolls (easy to perform) and shooting when you are open (once again, easy). Even if you don't know the offense you can always dump it into Dwight and clear out.

Do you know what our team's defense is by any chance?

[Capo d'Orlando]

The problem is obviously the absence of Hedo, thought that was an obvious one.

 

On a serious note though, the defense begins and ends with Dwight. Our guys were getting beat just as much last season, but Dwight was altering or blocking literally every shot. I don't know that it's wise for Dwight to jump on every lay up because it leaves his man open for the offensive board, but I think he really hasn't been doing much of that this season so far.

 

As it's been stated though, I don't think we were a defensive giant at the very beginning of the season and I think we'll pull it together. Secondly, we have been very short on guys, and so they're going to get pretty tired and I think naturally, defense will be the first area where the players slack off a little.

 

We'll be good. We just better show up in a big way on Wednesday, don't wanna be embarrassed in our first meeting with a contender.

[COLOMBIANO]

Hedo the Kobe Stopper!

 

Lee is missed a lot when playing defense. Hedo was lazy, but his height bother offensive players a bit. Also, Lewis is a better defender than Anderson.

 

Alston compared to Nelson was huge! Nelson is a liability and can't defend anyone!

[KillingInTheNameOf]

I think it's a combo of adding new players, failing to establish chemistry with either unit due to injuries & constant lineup/rotation changes, & developing bad habits from their early season ability to outshot teams to easy W's.