The Orlando Magic had one goal for the 2017 season — to make the Playoffs. They devised their best way to get there was to commit to one end of the floor. An elite level of offense or defense would almost assuredly give them an easier path to the postseason. With the urgency up to take that next step, the decision on where to invest their focus seemed easy.
Orlando was not becoming an offensive juggernaut overnight. And the team showed some signs defensively last year, finishing 16th in the league in defensive rating. If Orlando was going to push its chips in, it had to do it on the defensive end, shoring up some of the team’s weaknesses on that end.