Run-and-gun in Orlando? Skiles says he wants Magic to play with 'pace'
An up-tempo offense probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind when people think about new Orlando Magic head coach Scott Skiles. But in discussing his plans for his team this season, Skiles told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that pace will be an essential part of the Magic's offense.
But when Skiles talks about pace, he doesn't just mean increasing the number of possessions that Orlando has in a given game -- although that's important, too. Instead, Skiles wants to emphasize to his players the importance of being decisive and quick in one's actions:
"We want to do everything with pace. It’s not just how quickly you get the ball up the floor. Obviously, that’s important; we want to do that. In order to do that, though, you’ve got to stop people to get it up the floor quicker; otherwise, you’re taking it out of the net.
"But it’s everything within the offense. If we’re supposed to make a cut, we want to cut with speed. If we’re running pick-and-rolls, we want our screeners to get there with speed, and we want to come off with speed.
"The term 'pace' is used, and there’s a way to quantify that, and teams are ranked with regard to pace. We’d like to play with that type of pace. But, also, we kind of think about it in a different vein, too: We want to move within our offense with speed and pace, too. So both of those things we’d like to get done."
Skiles also told Robbins that there's a plan in place for the defense, and that he's hopeful that the team will pick up on the scheme sooner than later. However, Skiles allowed that the process could stretch into the regular season.
But the coach isn't looking for his team to nail down everything he teaches them right away. He emphasized that he has a mantra for the team: "Progress, not perfection."
The Magic have miles and miles to go before they're back to the glory days of Finals contention. Skiles, though, understands that such a journey begins with baby steps.
(h/t Orlando Sentinel)
