Goga Bitadze making his presence felt on the offensive glass with the Magic
Goga Bitadze’s role with the Orlando Magic may be uncertain going forward, but he’s already made a significant impact on the limited minutes he’s played.
When Bitadze first signed with the Magic as a free agent on Feb. 13, he was the third-string big man — mainly playing when the game’s result already was determined — behind starter Wendell Carter Jr. and reserve Moe Wagner.
But with Carter out and Wagner starting the previous three games, including Thursday’s 131-124 home loss to the Utah Jazz, Bitadze has stepped into the backup big role.
He’s made the most of those minutes by providing the Magic with an imposing interior threat, especially on the offensive glass.
“They make it easy for me to adjust,” Bitadze said. “Whatever Coach wants me to do, I’m going to go out there and do it.”
Bitadze’s grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the 61 minutes he’s played with the Magic, including 8 in the combined 41 minutes he played Thursday and in Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The playing-time sample is small, but the Magic have been an elite offensive rebounding team with Bitadze on the floor — grabbing 43.1% of available offensive boards while he’s on the court, according to Cleaning The Glass.
Orlando’s season-long offensive rebounding rate of 27.1% is just above the league average. The Houston Rockets lead the league with a 33.2% offensive rebounding rate.
Bitadze has done well with leveraging his size (6-foot-11, 250 pounds) on the interior, physically moving defenders also going for rebounds out of the way or not allowing them to impede his path to the ball.
His 5 offensive rebounds in the loss to the Bucks led to 8 second-chance points. Bitadze’s 3 offensive rebounds Thursday led to 2 second-chance points and a pair of free throws he missed.
Those extra scoring opportunities matter for a Magic team that’s typically struggled with half-court scoring.
The Magic are keeping things simple for Bitadze as he continues to adjust to his new team. Crashing the offensive glass hard seems to be part of that simplicity.
“With any team, simple is usually better,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “The less guys have to think, the better they can play harder. They can play more [reactively] and off instincts. That’s when these guys are at their best.”
Carter wasn’t on the team’s injury report and is expected to be available for Saturday’s home game vs. the Miami Heat. He told the Orlando Sentinel ahead of Thursday’s loss that’s when he was aiming to return.
The Magic’s defensive efficiency has tanked without Carter in the last three games.
They’ve recorded a combined defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 125.8 in the losses to the Portland Trail Blazers (Sunday), Bucks and Jazz. Orlando’s had a defensive rating of 119.6 or worse in each of those games.
The Spurs’ league-worst defense allows 119.6 points per 100 possessions.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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