It appears, at this point, that Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy has decided (for now, at least) that he'll stick with a 10-man rotation to start the regular season. Once Rashard Lewis is back from his suspension, all bets are off, but that's something to report coming out of the team's practice session during the afternoon, today.
I was able to speak with Stan Van Gundy amongst the media. Here's what he had to say (he was very subdued, by the way):
Stan Van Gundy:
Could you talk about practice and what you guys were working on today?
Yeah, we worked on ... we put in one new set. We worked on double-teaming defenses and our offense against it, we worked on zone offense and defense, and we worked on some pick & roll stuff so we got quite a bit done.
With last night's game [against the Indiana Pacers], was that a sign of things to come with the rotation going with 10 guys or will that change?
I don't know. I think right now, I think that we'll probably open the season playing 10 guys. Yeah, I think. That could get shorten at times but that's sort of where we're headed right now.
Will you try to shorten the rotation during the regular season?
It all depends, it all depends. I really don't know. I mean, things will change when Rashard [Lewis] gets back and we'll see how much. The rotation will probably have to be shorten but right now, I think we'll basically go with 2 guys at each position.
Will there be a different starting lineup for tomorrow night's game [against the Atlanta Hawks]?
Probably, yeah. It'll be different than last night, for sure.
Do you think your pick & roll defense has improved throughout the pre-season?
I think our defense took a step forward last night but it's a day-to-day thing. It's a constant challenge. I mean, we're still have a long way to go defensively but last night showed better focus and intensity so I thought that was a good sign.
Do you expect Linton Johnson to be on the roster for opening night?
I don't know that, yet. We haven't made that decision.
Do you like the team's chemistry so far?
So far I think it's good. I think, at times, it's better than others in terms of the way we play on the floor. I didn't think in the first half last night we had very good ball movement. I thought we tried to do too many things individually but in the second half, then I think the guys played much better, moved the ball better, played together better, and as a result, we got far better shots and we shot about twice as well so I don't think it was a coincidence.