Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Orlando Magic face continued offensive struggles after falling to the Detroit Pistons in Game 2 and scoring just 83 points.
- Despite trading for Desmond Bane and picking shooters in the last two drafts, the team still ranks near the bottom in both 3-point attempts and accuracy.
- The core issue remains the combination of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, requiring near-perfect spacing that has proven unsustainable against elite defenses.
The Orlando Magic blitzed the Pistons and came up with a surprising Game 1 upset. Unfortunately, they came crashing back to Earth in Game 2, showing off all the issues that have disrupted their season.
The Magic scored just 83 points and posting an anemic 83.8 offensive rating. The main reason they failed to put up points was their inability to hit 3s, as they made just 25 percent of their 32 3-point attempts. This has been a season-long epidemic for Orlando. On the year, they are 22nd in 3-point attempts per game and 27th in 3-point percentage. So, they aren't taking many 3s (a big no-no for spacing), and when they do, they aren't converting on those shots.
What makes this all worse is how hard they tried this offseason to rectify those issues.
Orlando tried to fix their shooting problem, and they still can't
This isn't the Magic's first season being a playoff team. In the last two seasons, they have made it to the postseason and been eliminated because of their shortcomings on offense.
So, this past offseason, Orlando made it a point of emphasis to address this. They traded a king's ransom for Desmond Bane, drafted Jase Richardson with their first round pick, signed Tyus Jones, and continued to develop potential spot-up mercenaries Tristan da Silva and Jett Howard.
Bane has been very good for the Magic this year, posting scoring volume and efficiency numbers right around what he did in his last season for the Memphis Grizzlies. However, because Bane is one of their most fluid ball movers, Orlando has had him spend a lot of time on-ball. He has done well in this role, but the more time he spends on the ball, the less time he can spend spacing the floor and firing triples. This year, he's taking the fewest number of 3s per 75 possessions of his career.
Silva has demonstrated some nice growth in his second season but he isn't the caliber of shooter (37.4 percent on 58th percentile volume) that can transform your offense on his lonesome. Howard is a great shooter, but his defense has been so bad (eighth percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus) that Orlando hasn't been able to play him in meaningful moments. Richardson hasn't factored into the rotation, either. I still have hope he'll be a good NBA player (his college track record is just too tantalizing), but for now, he isn't helping the Magic. Jones isn't even on the roster anymore.
When you really break it down, all of this stems from the fact that their two highest usage players, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, are not true threats from 3. To make it work with them, you need three high-level shooters (who can also play some defense) on the floor at all times. The Magic made it work in Game 1, in part because Banchero was relentless attacking the paint instead of settling for jumpers. But that formula can't deliver four wins in seven tries when defenses can continue to collapse and his decision-making is so inconsistent.
The NBA is the least-forgiving its ever been. If the Magic experience another first round exit, the half-measures they are currently taking will no longer suffice. People are going to call for some wide-scale changes. And from where I'm standing, that likely means breaking up the Wagner/Banchero duo once and for all.
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