National Basketball Association

Orlando Magic Grades: Atlanta Hawks 105, Orlando Magic 98

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Orlando Magic’s fifth preseason game resembled a team lacking offense against a team predicted to make the 2017 playoffs.

VS.

	1	2	3	4	T
Hawks	22	31	27	25	105
Magic	30	23	21	24	98

The Orlando Magic were going to find out just how good their defensive unit was in Sunday’s preseason game against the division-rival Atlanta Hawks.

The team gave starting center Nikola Vucevic and reserve small forward Jeff Green the night off, allowing Bismack Biyombo to ascend into the starting lineup for the first time. The Biyombo-Serge Ibaka duo would get its chance to shine defensively.

And for much of the game, the Ibaka-Biyombo duo were defensive beasts. The duo combined for seven blocks, including three straight possessions where the two swatted a shot. They were menacing and devastating on the defensive end.

But offensively, the Magic looked like they missed Green and Vucevic.

Orlando gave up a big lead in the first quarter and struggled to reclaim momentum as an undermanned Atlanta team scored a 105-98 victory at Amway Center on Sunday. The Magic never could get their offense completely right.

The eight first-half blocks though showed a glimpse of how special this group and specifically this tandem of Ibaka and Biyombo can be together. The Magic, despite giving up a big first-half lead once Ibaka and Biyombo exited the game, were in control.

The second half though started off embarrassingly slow offensively. The Magic had just two points in the first three minutes of the third quarter and the effort was admittedly lackadaisical.

For the most part the Magic did not do a great job on closing out on defenders at the 3-point line. The Magic allowed the Hawks, an average 3-point shooting team, to look like one of the best 3-point shooting teams in preseason. Atlanta made 10 of 27 from beyond the arc.

Although the Magic had double-digit blocks they failed to protect the paint in the end of the game as Tim Hardaway Jr. drove to the lane past Fournier for an easy lay up. Hardaway Jr. ended up closing out the Magic hitting two free throws on the Hawks next possession to put the eventual nail in the coffin.

Defensively this Orlando team is on its way to be the best rim protecting team in the NBA if Ibaka and Biyombo can stay healthy.

The defense looked great, but the Magic have a long way to go to try to figure out how to get everyone involved on a team lacking a point guard who can get everyone involved consistently.

Aaron Gordon had a terrible game tonight, but a large part of that is because he is a player that thrives off of a lob or a fast break pass. He will have a rough year if his individual game hasn’t gotten any better.

It is hard to be extremely critical about the offensive production of a Magic team that played a game without Vucevic and Green. But the Magic needed certain players to step up offensively in their absence.

Serge Ibaka

F/C, Orlando Magic

Serge Ibaka’s 14 points, three rebounds and two blocks stat line in the first half shows he may still have something left in the tank and he thinks he can take his leadership role to another level. Especially since the Magic fed him the ball late in the game and looked to him for offense. Ibaka finished with 25 points, six rebounds and two blocks on 9-for-15 shooting.

Ibaka will need to keep this mind frame throughout the season on this young team to keep their confidence flowing. Ibaka’s individual game looks good enough for teams to bring a double team although the Hawks seldom brought extra help in tonight’s game.

Bismack Biyombo

C, Orlando Magic

The things Magic fans do not want to see are the easy missed attempts at the basket from Biyombo and the missed free throws — he made just two of seven shots overall and just three of his 10 free throw attempts. Although he pulled in a game-high 19 rebounds, his lack of an offensive game can overshadow a dominant night defensively. The Magic have to find ways to get Biyombo easier shots at the basket. He is most effective and can have an impact offensively when he is catching lobs and dunking missed shot attempts.

With the addition of Biyombo, this team has the capability to be the best rim protecting Magic team in the history of the franchise. And they showed that tonight with Biyombo’s ability to cover for his teammates around the paint.

Evan Fournier

SG, Orlando Magic

Fournier’s contributions cannot be ignored on a team searching for offensive contributors. Fournier finished with 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting overall. He has a terrific feel for the game as he showed he can be a playmaker from the shooting guard position.

Fournier needs to be more aggressive and look for his own shot at the end of games, especially if the Magic are losing. He has proven to be the best offensive weapon on the team and this young team needs their best weapon as aggressive as possible in the clutch.

Tonight, Fournier struggled some down the stretch and did not deliver the Magic a win with the starters playing to the end of the game.

Elfrid Payton

PG, Orlando Magic

Payton finished with 14 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. He made six of his 11 shots for the game, shoting aggressiveness getting into the paint and attacking the defense.

But he has to get better at recognizing when and when not to attack the basket and find an open teammate. Payton remained fairly sloppy with five turnovers.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks 3-point shooting was impressive to say the least. The Magic had a hard time defending the perimeter tonight for whatever reason. Atlanta made 10 of 27 3-pointers and got to the line for 23 of 27 free throw makes. That put pressure on two of Orlando’s biggest weaknesses on offense.

The debuting Paul Millsap also put some work in against the Magic. Millsap scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists in 19 minutes of work.