Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to be the veteran addition that helps the Orlando Magic solidify themselves as a Playoff threat in the Eastern Conference. The two-time champion is liking being on the Magic, recently saying that the Magic is the first team where all his teammates have been committed on defense, unlike his previous teams like the Los Angeles Lakers or Denver Nuggets.
“This is the first team that I’ve been on where everybody likes to defend. That’s exciting for me. It makes me want to compete even more on that end. I’m just looking forward to being that team that’s going to be hard to score on. That (says a lot) in this league. A team that gets stops wins games.”
The Magic were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA last season, with Pope providing high-level 3-and-D play with championship experience for the young squad. But the biggest takeaway for most fans after KCP's comments was the apparent shade towards the Lakers and Nuggets, specifically LeBron James and Nikola Jokic.
While James was once a DPOY-level player, he has taken a major step back on his commitment to defense since the latter half of his stint on the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Los Angeles Lakers building the championship-winning 2019-20 roster with multiple defenders around James to allow him to focus on being an offensive hub and playmaker.
Jokic hasn't played a lot of high-level defense consistently in his career. While Jokic has proven to be solid defensively in spots, his offensive workload and skill set won't ever have him committed to high-level defense, with the Nuggets also surrounding him with positive defenders to maximize his impact.
Pope might love this Magic squad, but it'd be hard for even them to replicate the defense of the 2020 Lakers who had a 106.1 defensive rating in the regular season, one of the best in the NBA that season.
The Nuggets weren't defensive aces for their 2023 title run, but their defensive rating of 110.2 didn't end up mattering as they blitzed through the Playoffs on the strength of their Jokic-led offense.
Was This A Shot Toward LeBron Or Jokic?
Pope wouldn't directly call out either star, but it's hard to take it any other way. Anyone who has watched these teams that KCP has played on knows he could only be talking about these specific players.
The 2020 Lakers were built on an identity of defense, with almost every rotational player being a plus-defender, with that defensive commitment reflected in their performances. The only one not committed to giving everything on defense that season was likely LeBron, as he was trying to single-handedly create offense for everyone on the roster. KCP might be right about the defense, but he isn't shading LeBron because of the immense offensive workload he carried that season.
The same can be said about his time on the 2023 Nuggets, though that team didn't have the clearly defined defensive ethos that the 2020 Lakers had. Jokic doesn't need to be an All-Defense caliber center because his offense more than makes up for it, so Pope was likely stating a fact about these superstar's lower commitment to defense due to their offensive workload.
The Magic have a rising superstar in Paolo Banchero, but he's not nearly accomplished enough or offensively gifted to forgo playing hard defense like head coach Jamahl Mosley wants everyone on this roster to play.
