Defense Does It Against Bobcats

When the Magic and Bobcats met in the Playoffs two years ago, defense was the calling card for both teams. Then the top two teams in the league by defensive efficiency the NBA was treated to a four-game series of some hard-nosed defense. Charlotte has completely remade its roster since then and some of that defensive identity has disappeared, especially when Gerald Wallace was traded. Orlando? The defense is still strong. But as the Magic build their identity for this season, and the offense continues to have some maddening stretches of inconsistency, defense is where the hear of the Magic will have to lie. For the second straight night, Orlando built a large lead but never ran away against a clearly inferior opponent. For the second straight night, that really did not seem to matter as Orlando built that lead and relied on the defense to keep it there as the shots refused to fall and the ball became stagnant. Against Houston, New Jersey and Charlotte, Orlando got away with it. W...