Orlando Magic know their pace, must find it again without point guards

The Orlando Magic are figuring out how to survive without their two leading point guards. The biggest difference is their pace, a problem they must solve.

Eventually, that time would come when teams began to find a way to scheme for the Orlando Magic. Teams would figure out a way to slow the pace and force the Magic to adjust.

It is not clear if the Magic are at that point. When they are healthy, they have figured out every other challenge to this point in the season. The only time they cannot seem to get themselves right is when Shelvin Mack is left entrusted as the only point guard on the roster.

The early season injuries to Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin have knocked the Magic off kilter. The team is 0-3 with both players out. Shelvin Mack has simply struggled to maintain the Magic as the fine-tuned machine they can be.

The Orlando Magic eventually figured things out in a 125-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The Magic posted an acceptable 107.2 offensive rating. Orlando is going to be able to score. They will find a way.

Getting there and playing the game on their terms is going to be the difficult challenge for the Magic. Especially when they struggle to make shots as they did early in the game.

There is a difference in this team. A noticeable one when their point guards are out. There is a noticeable difference in the way this team wins and loses this game.

It is pace. This whole season is seemingly all about pace. It was part of the mantra the team undertook to end last season. It was the rallying cry all this preseason. The team had to play with better pace.

This is not pace in terms of the number of possessions. Saturday’s game was played at a pace of 99.3 possessions per 48 minutes, lower than the Magic’s preferred or average pace. But clearly, the Magic could still score. In fact, the first half was played at a faster 102.9 pace and the team still had a 91.0 offensive rating.

In other words, in terms of possessions, the Magic played better in the second half offensively with a more controlled tempo.

That fits Mack a lot better. It is in him the team sees the biggest difference. He is obviously the only point guard left and probably the one that does not seem to have the greatest fit.

The Magic’s problem typically is not the number of possessions. Coaches loathe this definition of “pace.” They prefer to talk about a much more difficult to measure definition of pace. They prefer looking at how a team is playing within the half-court offense and how quickly the team is moving through its sets.

In this definition, the number of possessions should only be high because the team is getting stops and getting out in transition. Orlando did neither in the loss to Denver, recording 14 fast-break points and giving up a 136.5 defensive rating.

Defense is still the key for the Magic. But it is not the leader of this Orlando team.

The Magic are a rhythm team. When their offense gets working, it helps everything else lock into place. Their early offense still dictates their play the rest of the game. That part needs to change.

And Orlando still has all those expected offensive flaws without an energetic pace to the game.

Mack does fine to initiate a set, but he still struggles to create the rhythm the team needs. Orlando gets into its sets slower and runs through them slower. This leads to the team taking shots later in the shot clock. And that typically means the team is taking more contested shots late in the clock.

According to NBA.com, the Magic still took the majority of their shots from 15-7 seconds remaining in the shot clock. It is hard to quantify exactly how the Magic slow down. Or how they have slowed down. It is a feeling.

Watching the Magic, it is clear the team is not as fast as it is with other point guards. The team lacks the point guard who can create and get into the lane. That is simply not Mack’s expertise. It is not even what the Magic brought him in for.

But this form of pace should go beyond the point guard. It is a key fulcrum for creating the tempo the team wants. But it should not be the only piece necessary. Orlando has to find a way to keep its pace and intensity up through the point guard struggles and even missed shots.

It is clear to see when the Magic are struggling. Their offense slows. Orlando’s passes become more forced — Orlando actually made more passes in Saturday’s game (308) than the team’s season average (283.3). The team just does not have the rhythm it needs. And everything is thrown off kilter.

Orlando’s pace is not captured statistically. At least not anywhere publicly.

The Magic never found their rhythm Saturday. Or they found it too late. And never found it on defense. Once Orlando gets its offense in place, the defense usually follows. When the Magic struggle offensively and struggle to find their rhythm, the rest of the puzzle seemingly falls apart.

This is one of the quirks the Magic are discovering about themselves in this early season. There is a long way to go to figure it out.

Next: Grades: Denver Nuggets 125, Orlando Magic 107

With Payton and Augustin out, for the time being, Orlando has to find a way.