The Orlando Magic are 2-5 to start the season, and a big reason behind that development is their struggles on the defensive end of the floor.

The Magic's 116.2 defensive rating ranks 25th in the league behind the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, but there's still time to improve on the defensive end of the floor. Some members of the Orlando Magic On SI staff spoke about how the team can improve defensively.

More Disruption

"The Magic’s biggest issue defensively is that they haven’t been disruptive enough. Currently, they have forced the third-fewest deflections and the fourth-fewest steals per possession. In Jalen Suggs’ absence, they haven’t had a consistent disruptor at the point-of-attack, nor do they have an elite defensive anchor to cover up for many mistakes on the back-line — with all due respect to Wendell Carter Jr.

"There’s a push-pull element. I think the Magic need to be slightly more aggressive with their coverages, but that also puts more strain on the back-line. They have a bunch of versatile defenders, but I think the losses of Suggs, Noah Penda and, to some extent, Banchero have limited its short-term ceiling." — Matt Hanifan

Too Many Easy Looks

"The Orlando Magic’s defensive struggles have stemmed from multiple things. Beyond using the injury and continuity excuse, the Magic’s offense and inability to rebound have harmed their defense.

"Orlando’s transition defense ranks in the bottom 5, while their rebounding ranks last. Then when you look at the advanced statistics, the Magic are giving up way too many easy looks. 25.7% of the time the Magic are allowing wide open (closest defender further than 6+ feet away) shots, that is unacceptable. If the Magic can clean up their effort and defensive intensity, things will improve instantly." — Austin Dobbins

Get Healthier

"The Magic have built their nucleus around their long guards and dynamic forwards, but Anthony Black has missed half of their games. Jalen Suggs has been out for half of their games as well, and Paolo Banchero has only played in two games so far this season.

"Those are some key defensive cogs in the machine, and not having them on the floor is detrimental for Orlando moving forward. The team cannot work without all of its parts, especially its most important one, Banchero. This sample size isn't indicative of what the team can actually do." — Jeremy Brener