Orlando Magic not concerned with early shooting struggles

The Orlando Magic had some struggles on the offensive end early on this preseason. That is not a concern as new teammates and hard practices wear on them.

Nikola Vucevic stared down a moment he had seen countless times throughout his career. He ran a pick and roll and popped out to the perimeter as Elfrid Payton drew the defense in. He kicked the ball out to Nikola Vucevic with tons of space and a clean look at the basket.

Repetition would sink in and Vucevic would shoot the jumper as smoothly as he ever has. There was seemingly no difference in the jumper.

Except the result. The ball clanked off the rim and fell no good.

Vucevic would get chance after chance in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, especially, all no good.

Even around the basket, Vucevic was struggling to get his usual tip ins as he wracked up offensive rebounds by playing volleyball with the backboard. It was not Vucevic’s strongest game, finishing with six points and 10 rebounds (six offensive boards) on an ugly 1-for-7 shooting.

Nikola Vucevic, a career 51.1 percent shooter, is shooting just 8 for 26 through the first three preseason games — an ugly 30.8 percent with just two 3-pointers.

Like several players on the Orlando Magic, Vucevic is struggling to make shots as the preseason kicks into gear.

“I think for us, until we get our legs under us, our shots will start falling,” Vucevic said. “That’s not something we’re too worried about. The great thing last night was that we defended really well. We made some good plays on that end. Offensively, I thought we played better, we just missed a lot of good looks. I think those will come.”

Frank Vogel has run his team hard. A lot of camp time has been spent on conditioning and getting players in better shape for games. That may be leading to tired legs when it comes to games.

Add on top the players learning new teammates and a new system, and shooting is not the primary concern for the Magic at this point of the preseason.

Some of Vucevic’s struggles may be because he is taking more jumpers having played two games with Bismack Biyombo at center. And now playing his first game with Serge Ibaka, there certainly seemed to be a feeling-out process going on.

The Magic as a team are shooting 43.7 percent in the preseason with a 50.0 percent effective field goal percentage. That certainly seems to suggest the Magic are getting a good distribution on offense and will recover as they get more comfortable.

That provides some optimism as the wears of constant practicing and training camp still weigh the team down some.

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“I’m hopeful a large part of that is I am running them so much in practice that they should be a little heavy legged,” coach Frank Vogel said. “I looked at tape and there were a lot of open shots by good shooters that we missed. The turnovers will hopefully get better. I’m not concerned about that. We’re going to be really good on the defensive end and once we establish that, the offense will come.”

As with so many things in the preseason, it is truly about getting better as the season moves on. And not everyone on the team has struggled.

The Magic as a group are shooting 42.0 percent from beyond the arc. Evan Fournier has been killer, scoring 17.3 points per game on 59.4 percent shooting, 8-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc and 71.9 percent effective field goal percentage.

Jeff Green has also been strong with 14.0 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting and a 54.7 percent effective field goal percentage.

But in the first quarter last night, the shooting woes were hard to miss. Evan Fournier made five of his eight shots. The rest of his team missed all 12 of their field goals.

Many players still have a ways to go to get their legs under them. The team is still figuring a lot of things out.

“I think nobody has found a role yet,” Mario Hezonja said. “Everybody is trying to get to know each other. Nobody is trying to do some showtime plays. Everybody is trying to help each other and that’s especially because we have Jeff [Green], Serge [Ibaka], Bismack [Biyombo] because they talk a lot. They know what a winning team is like. Nobody is, me neither, in a specific role. Everybody is trying to help each other fit perfectly.”

Mario Hezonja has struggled as much as any player. He has taken the third-most shots on the team and is shooting just 9 for 27 (33.3 percent). He is even worse shooting 4 for 13 from beyond the arc.

So far, he is not forcing anything though, it seems. He is just missing shots. A common problem throughout the preseason and on the roster.

He said individually he feels ready for the season. Everyone individually seems ready for the season, but the group still needs some time to come together.

It feels like with the Magic everyone is waiting for that shoe to drop. That moment where chemistry kicks in and everything seems to click. Then, it would seem, the offense will flow.

“I think for us to be a good team, it needs to be spread out as far as scoring,” Vucevic said. “We can’t rely on Evan or myself or some other guys. It has to be spread around if we want to be a really good team. I’ll still be aggressive and still look to score when I get a chance to. I think in our first unit right now, obviously I think Evan and I will have to take a big load of the scoring. But, at the same, time we have to make sure everyone gets involved and the ball is moving.”

That balance will come as everyone gains better chemistry. And seemingly the shots will follow.

For Hezonja, Vucevic and the Magic, it is about progressively getting better as the team prepares for the regular season. There is not any concern now over missed open shots — just getting them is a good sign for the moment.

Next: Orlando Magic's veteran presence already speaking up

But that will quickly change as Oct. 26 approaches.