OKC Thunder vs. Orlando Magic, 2019-20 team preview

Size:

This team is long and athletic which causes fits for opposing offenses. Although DJ Augustine is on the smaller side the rest of the starters they finished the season with last year measure as follows:

Point Guard: DJ Augustine – 6’0″
Shooting Guard: Evan Fournier – 6’7″
Small Forward: Aaron Gordon – 6’9″
Power Forward: Jonathan Issac – 6’10”
Center: Nikola Vucevic -7’0″

The key player off the bench was Terrence Ross: 6’7″

Other bench players:

Wesley Iwundu: 6’7″
Markelle Fultz 6’4″
Michael Carter-Williams: 6’6″
Mo Bamba: 7’1″
Khem Birch: 6’9″
Al-Farouq Aminu:  6’9″

Notably, Weltman clearly loves long athletes and the prospect of putting Fultz eventually into the starting lineup makes for one of the longest starting lineups in the league.

Coaching and philosophy:

In his first season as the Head Coach Steve Clifford improved the team’s total wins by 17 and got them back into the playoffs. The season prior when Frank Vogel was the coach the team finished with the 25th ranked offense and 18th ranked defense. Clifford improved the club to the 22nd ranked offense and vaulted the team into 8th defensively.

The focus on defense likely played into the Magic failing to make a mark offensively although they did post the third-ranked offense in April so as the season was winding down it was the first time they were able to excel on both sides of the hardwood. The Magic players all speak highly of the coach and it’s clear they respect him and like him – something that isn’t always a given.