Orlando Magic find the 3-pointer and die by it against Charlotte Hornets

The Orlando Magic took a season-high 40 3-point attempts in Wednesday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets, allowing themselves to play into the Hornets’ hands.

Elfrid Payton dribbled down the baseline as the Charlotte Hornets prepared the wall to repel Elfrid Payton from the paint. That is the Hornets’ strategy of course. Charlotte wants to keep players out of the paint and use their length to challenge and contest shots.

The Orlando Magic all game had found their way around this. Payton would whip the ball out of the paint on his drives and the Magic would force the amoeba-like rotations to shift and move to catch up to the ball.

For most of the Magic’s 109-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, they were able to do this and make 3-pointers at a decent clip. But ultimately, Charlotte’s strategy would win out. The 3-pointers would not fall. the length would get there in time. The Magic would hit a dead end.

On critical position after critical possession in the fourth quarter, Payton would drive and find himself surrounded. He would dish it out to Nikola Vucevic at the perimeter and try to get it back or Vucevic would dish it to the top of the key to a covered Evan Fournier. The rotation and reversals stopped completely. Someone would have to fire a contested shot.

"“I thought we really played well offensively in the fourth quarter and had some great offensive possessions that led to open shots that we just didn’t knock down,” coach Frank Vogel said to Orlando Magic Daily after the game. “Most of the quarter looked like that. A couple possessions got busted up. There were some really good offensive possessions that didn’t result in a payoff. That’s just the game of the basketball.”"

Orlando’s over-reliance on the 3-pointer came to roost Wednesday night at the Amway Center. The Hornets had the Magic exactly where they wanted them at the end of the game. Their 50-34 advantage in the paint said it all.

Orlando Magic

Orlando took the most 3-point field goals of the season in Wednesday’s game, eclipsing 40 for the first time this season. The previous high was 38 from New Years’ Day against the Indiana Pacers. The Magic’s high since the All-Star Break was 35 taken against the Washington Wizards. And the Magic have lost all but one game when they take 34 or more 3-point attempts (nine games this season).

Orlando is not a 3-point shooting team despite the team’s desire to have more space for a fast-break style. The Magic using the 3-point line this much is usually a bad sign for the team. This is not a great shooting team at all.

That much was clear even before the season with the roster’s makeup and it has only been made more evident as the season has gone on. The Magic have the worst 3-point shooting percentage in the league.

But the way the team wants to play — using the threat of 3-point shooting to create space is even more reliant on this supposed weakness.

And it played right into the Hornets’ hands.

"“That’s what their defense gives you,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily. “They are 30th in the league in the amount of threes they give up. Because you bounce the ball one time and they have five guys in the paint. They make you beat them over the top. I thought our guys came out and shot the ball with confidence most of the night. We got cold late in teh night when it mattered."

Charlotte indeed gives up the most 3-pointers in the league at 31.6 attempts per game. The Hornets are 15th in the league in 3-point percentage allowed this year at 35.8 percent give up.

This was the shot the Hornets gave the Magic, and the shot the Magic took throughout the night. The team was 14 for 40 overall. But in the tell-tale fourth quarter, Orlando was 4 for 13 from beyond the arc and just 3 for 7 in the paint.

It is easy to say the team settled. But largely the team got good looks. They rotated the ball well throughout the game around the perimeter and found that hole in the Hornets defense. Unlike the previous matchups, the team did not get stuck on one side or get caught in the trap the Hornets defense brings.

The Magic could only look back and lament the missed opportunity.

"“We missed a couple shots that we usually make,” Payton told Orlando Magic Daily. “A couple times we might have over penetrated a little bit. For the most part we gotgood looks. We have to knock them down at the end of the day.”"

The increasing three-point shot is a trend though that has not necessarily brought success for the team.

Since the All-Star Break, the Magic’s 3-point attempts are up from their season average of 25.9 per game to 27.0 per game. All the while the Magic continue to shoot an icy, and league-worst 28.8 percent from beyond the arc since the All-Star Break.

That increase in attempts should be expected with the the team playing a  more open-court, fast-breaking style. The Magic technically have more shooters, but that has not necessarily translated into better shooting for this team.

The team’s offense is generally humming more smoothly than it had before the break. But the shooting percentages have not jumped up correspondingly. Even as the Magic like their looks from beyond the arc. The 3-pointer just has not been effective enough.

"“Everyone got great ball movement throughout the entire game,” Payton told Orlando Magic Daily. “Everybody was touching the ball. Everyone was getting good looks. We just have to knock them down. Obviously we can say Charlotte forces you to do that, but it’s something we can build on.”"

The Magic are not likely to hoist so often from beyond the arc in the future. While the team has the threat of the 3-pointer now with the addition of Terrence Ross and with Jodie Meeks‘ return, it is still not their forte. To win, the Magic have to attack the paint and look to kick out for their 3-pointers rather than rely solely on ball reversals.

Clearly the team still has some work to do to get those percentages up and make the 3-pointer a more effective weapon, even with its increased usage since the All-Star Break.

Next: Grades: Charlotte Hornets 109, Orlando Magic 102

The Charlotte Hornets played those percentages on Wednesday. They waited for the Magic’s 3-point shooting to come back to earth. When it finally did, the Hornets were able to take advantage and put the game away.