The Orlando Magic are quickly out of the gates in the NBA season. And they have become something no one expected — a 3-point shooting team.
The scouting report for the Cleveland Cavaliers likely had a familiar line on it. One that has been true of the Orlando Magic for the last five years — do not worry about their shooters and leave them open.
The images from last year of teams crowding the paint and allowing the Magic to shoot the ball was a sign of the team’s poor spacing and construction. The Magic are a bad 3-point shooting. That is the continuing storyline. Teams will play that way until the Magic force them to change.
If the first three games of the 2018 season are any indication, that scouting report will change.
The Magic put on a 3-point barrage making 17 of 35 3-pointers and a franchise-record-tying eight in the first quarter. There was a point in the second quarter — as the Cavaliers were coming back — where it almost felt like the Magic were taking too many 3-pointers, relying on the shot too much. Not that they had a reason to lack any confidence. Orlando was making the long-range shots so confidently, that even semi-contested shots were not terrible.
Orlando was getting 3-pointers in the first quarter and as they built up as much as a 37-point lead in a Saturday’s 114-93 win over the Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena within the flow of the offense. The Magic had assists on 16 of the team’s 17 3-point makes on the evening.
This was a scoring barrage built on the team’s pace and its ability to spread the floor. If Orlando has an ideal way of getting 3-pointers, what the team did to Cleveland is the ideal way to go about it.
The Magic, in other words, ripped the Cavaliers’ defense apart. They worked the ball for open shots.
The best possession for Orlando ended in a miss. But it was exciting to see the ball whip around like this. The Magic were not some plucky team having the night of their lives. They were the better team and the one getting good shots.
In fairness, the Magic were also in a zone. Nikola Vucevic hit some crazy shots over some tough defense. D.J. Augustin banked in a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. And Cleveland missed plenty of open looks in the first quarter that would have helped the team keep pace with Orlando.
But the Magic are doing something a bit more. At least, if the first three games are any indication.
Orlando Magic
These are still early season statistics, so it is hard to figure out what is real. But as each result builds upon itself, the team begins creating trends. And these trends lend themselves to an identity.
Orlando is shooting 48.3 percent from beyond the arc on 29.7 3-point field goal attempts per game. That 48.3 percent mark is second in the league so far. Small sample size theater indeed.
But consider where the Magic are coming from.
Last year, Orlando was 29th in the league shooting 32.8 percent on 26.1 attempts per game from beyond the arc. In 2016, the Magic were 22nd in the league shooting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc 22.2 attempts per game. Orlando was 16th in the league shooting 34.7 percent from beyond the arc on 19.5 attempts per game.
That is a big improvement. One that cannot be ignored, even at this early stage. The Magic will come back down to earth — the last two games heavily weigh on those stats where the Magic shot well from beyond the arc.
But this is part of who the Magic want to be.
Obviously, the league has changed dramatically. As the Magic attempt to modernize, adding the 3-point shot is a big part of that equation. Orlando wants to increase the pace — the Magic are sixth in the league in pace with 106.5 possessions per game — but they also want to spread the ball around and use their spacing to create driving lanes.
The first step to doing that was to get the shooters and be willing to shoot from beyond the arc.
Orlando certainly noticed an improvement to their spacing with Terrence Ross. But even last year, the team was a worse 3-point shooting team after the All-Star Break, albeit marginally so. The team’s offense was better, but the 3-pointer was not a part of their game. Aaron Gordon was still an iffy 3-point shooter. And Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross struggled too.
Saturday, the Magic looked like a different team from beyond the arc. And that is not just because Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton were out with injury. The team has looked like this from beyond the arc all season so far.
Gordon is an improved 3-point shooter. But the development of Nikola Vucevic as a 3-point shooter has transformed the team to some extent.
The Orlando Magic were an offensive juggernaut against the Brooklyn Nets, even as they gave up points in bunches. Vucevic hitting six 3-pointers was not likely replicable. But as he hit his first 3-pointer in the game against the Cavaliers, the Cavs then had to worry about him the rest of the game.
Adding Vucevic as a 3-point shooter gives the Magic the spacing they need. Their lineup might be inverse of the typical 3-point shooting lineup. But that uniqueness could create some matchup advantages.
Vucevic and Fournier hit the first two 3-pointers of the game. D.J. Augustin was a constant threat, especially with Vucevic soaking up so much attention with his smart reads on pick and rolls. The Cavaliers defense worried about his shot so much, they left the lane open for him to roll straight through.
Jonathon Simmons got into his rhythm and was able to fire away from 3-point range with relative ease. Mario Hezonja got the ball on reversals and shot confidently. The Cavaliers had to stick to the perimeter. And that allowed the Magic to stay on the attack. Cleveland was always backpedaling.
The 3-pointer has that power against a defense. That was clearly something lacking for this team in the past. It was not central to their strategy. The 3-pointer may still not be central for the Magic, but it is clearly a key weapon.
The numbers from beyond the arc for the Magic are not likely sustainable. Orlando is not going to be a 50-percent shooting team. Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon have missed the majority of the team’s games so far. They are not exactly known for their outside shooting.
But the Magic are going to force teams to change their scouting report slowly but surely. Teams are going to have to pay at least some attention to the Magic’s 3-point shooting.
Then again, if Orlando is able to get dribble penetration and force the issue with their pace, they should be able to kick it out for open 3-pointers.
Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 93
If Orlando is making them even at a decent clip that changes the outlook for the Magic dramatically. All of a sudden the team’s biggest weakness at least becomes something it can rely on regularly.