Precision and execution key to Orlando Magic’s revival

Jan 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris (12) during the second half at Amway Center. Indiana defeated Orlando 95-86. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris (12) during the second half at Amway Center. Indiana defeated Orlando 95-86. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Orlando Magic have lost focus on the little details that make their offense truly hum. Getting it back is the real trick the Magic have struggled with.

There are problems all around the Orlando Magic these days.

The defense is giving up easy dribble penetration and failing to rotate to protect the paint when the initial defender gets beat. The offense is stagnant with little ball movement and a ton of dribbling.

It all sticks and it all gets the team nowhere.

When Scott Skiles and the Magic say everything needs to get fixed, they are absolutely correct. There is not one thing the Magic need to work on at this point, it is really everything.

The problems the team is facing are no mystery to anyone.

“We’ve taken such a big step back on the defensive end and offensively with our ball movement and screening, there is no pushback,” coach Scott Skiles said. “The guys know it, they are talking among themselves. They know it. It’s just a matter of you’ve got to go out and do it. You’ve got to shake off whatever funk you are in and go out and do it.”

The numbers have been pretty often repeated in January. The Magic are essentially playing like the second worst team in the entire league right now — they are second worst in the league in net rating.

It is painfully obvious how poorly the Magic are playing. Fixing it has been the bigger problem. Something that has been repeated ad nauseum for the last three weeks.

The bigger issue for the Magic though is just the basic details have lost their clarity.

The Magic’s offense is reliant on quick passes around the perimeter to loosen the defense. The players often catch the ball and move immediately on the catch to attack as the defense is rotating. When this is happening, the Magic offense can be as deadly as any in the league. There was a stretch of games where the Magic were as much the best offense in the league as they have the worst offense in the league right now.

Like with the defense, the Magic know they are capable of playing at a high level.

“I think we’ve just got to go back to playing free and not being so tense and play together and enjoying the game,” said Victor Oladipo, who participated in non-contact drills during practice Thursday and could return to the lineup Friday against Charlotte. “That’s when we are at our best.”

Oladipo said there is a tendency to get tight and a little over antsy when the team is struggling to gain traction. He said he believes the team does have to play looser, freer and with more confidence to right the ship.

Right now even the simple things seem difficult. There were several occasions in Wednesday’s game where Philadelphia’s ball pressure forced difficult passes or contested catches off the pass. Those little bobbles go a long way to disrupting a flow offense like Orlando’s.

There were also several occasions Wednesday where the Magic did not get into their set until there were 15 or 14 seconds left on the shot clock, leaving them with single-option plays.

Orlando cannot operate an offense with these impediments.

“What’s happened really is when we were playing well a little bit earlier, we would get the ball up the floor with pace whether we were running one of our sets or just playing out of the break, the ball was changing sides of the floor once or twice before anything would even happen,” Skiles said. “We were churning the defense and then attacking. Now we’re coming up staying on the strongside and going one on one. It’s not our game.”

Adding to those problems, the Magic are not getting stops and taking the ball out of bounds rather than getting up the floor in transition. That momentary delay is less time for the Magic to get to work offensively.

Add on the imprecision with something as simple as a pass and catch and that becomes a barrier too big for a team that has a small margin for error.

The defensive end has its own imprecisions. Skiles has said in the past week the Magic are making the first effort to get a stop, but not the second and extra effort. The guard may be getting caught on the screen and the defense rotating in to stop the ball handler, but no one is coming behind to cover the helper’s man or no player is recovering to get the next stop.

The simplest things can be building blocks to big problems.

The good news for the Magic, if there is any, is that piece of knowing something is wrong. Orlando has had no concern recognizing the problem.

Solving it is the main issue.

“The mental part of it is the biggest part of it,” Skiles said. “You’ve got to mentally get yourself ready to play, mentally know what we’re supposed to do that night, mentally know the opponent. Then you’ve got to manage yourself, your own confidence and self esteem. A lot of it is mental.”

The issues from the Magic in this down stretch has been less about scheme and more about just a mentality and focus. It takes precision to make up the margin for error with this roster.

Next: Three factors that can stop the Orlando Magic's slide

And that has been what has been lacking lately.