Orlando Magic missing in this make-or-miss league

The Orlando Magic offense was expected to be bad. But it has been simply horrendous and is completely holding the team back.

When Dave Joerger was the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, he led a team that was bucking the trends of the NBA. They were hard-nosed and gritty, employing two big men and trying to grind teams to a pulp. He was continuing the grit and grind tradition of the Lionel Hollins‘ teams.

According to Basketball-Reference, the Grizzlies under Joerger were last in pace in 2014, 26th in 2015 and 27th in 2016.

He introduced some elements of a modern offense for sure. He had Marc Gasol expand his range past the 3-point line. But the team was still ostensibly a defensive team that eschewed the 3-point line. The team was not going to get caught up or trapped in this new wave. They would stay true to their identity. And they made the Playoffs and had relative success.

With the Sacramento Kings now, Joerger is coaching a much different team and a much different style.

"“We don’t care [about defense]. We’re just going to get 125,” Joerger deadpanned before the game. “It’s experience. What would you rather live within our game right now? And I think you are seeing that throughout the league of trying to stay close to 3-point guys or use more guys who can get out quicker. It’s an experience to develop it and it does take time.”"

That is not something Joerger would have said during his Memphis days.

Undoubtedly this is a different team though. With De’Aaron Fox leading the way, the Kings are aiming to quicken the pace. They are taking a healthy amount of 3-pointers and spreading the floor with Nemanja Bjelica and Buddy Hield on the wings beside De’Aaron Fox. Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford complimented the team as being one of the best at pushing the pace off made baskets.

Joerger is changing his philosophy  This is not the gritty defensive team — although they still swarm ball handlers, sometimes recklessly, creating chaos and fast-break opportunities but also plenty of holes to exploit. But that is the reality of a NBA where scoring is dramatically up and the 3-pointer is king.

This is the way the league is having teams play. It is the only way for teams to keep up as the 3-pointer becomes a more powerful tool — a necessity for any player entering the league.

The Magic are receiving lessons in this on a seemingly nightly basis now. Failing to make shots is a death sentence in this league now. Failing to threaten from beyond the arc is almost a death sentence. Struggling to find any offensive rhythm or keep pace even with solid defensive effort is not going to get the job done.

For now, Orlando may simply be at a loss to find that rhythm and find that offense. This is not an offensive team. But, for now, they simply have to find a way.

"“Obviously it has been an issue for us this whole year,” Nikola Vucevic said. “We’re going to have to figure it out really soon. Today’s league, as important as defense is, teams are scoring at a high pace and you have to keep up. We have to find a way to be more efficient offensively. We’ll figure it out through watching tape and in practice working on it. It’s not going to happen overnight.”"

Orlando again was struggling to keep up, giving away a solid defensive effort against a good offensive Sacramento team.

The Magic shot 39.6 percent for the game and struggled to stay better than 40 percent for much of the game. The team matched its team-record 43 3-point attempts set in Saturday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Like that game, Orlando made just 11 (the team made 10 against Milwaukee).

And like that game, Orlando missed plenty of open looks. The numbers overall are not pretty.

Orlando Magic

Aaron Gordon led the way with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting, making just 2 of his 7 3-point attempts. Evan Fournier continued his early-season slump, shooting 3 for 13 and 1 for 6 from beyond the arc. Terrence Ross was the team’s offensive spark, but still made just 7 of 17 shots and 3 of 9 from beyond the arc. Jonathan Isaac missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

It was an ugly game just for the fact the Magic could not hit the good looks they worked hard to get.

"“To be honest with you, I thought they missed a lot of open shots,” Joerger said after the game. “It seemed like they had good looks, and for one reason or another, the ball just didn’t go in. Those guys are all good shooters.”"

This is becoming a common refrain and is putting more pressure on the Magic to be nearly perfect. The team has a tiny margin for error. Missing open shots and missing shots at an alarming rate only widens that gulf.

It makes it feel like once again the Magic have their philosophy backward. Collecting length and athleticism for the defensive end is all well and good. It does create problems for opposing offenses to operate smoothly. It is a disruptive force.

But it does not seem to mean much without the ability to shoot. The Bucks, John Hammond’s old team, is figuring that out as they surround Giannis Antetokounmpo with 3-point shooters. That team is tearing things up offensively early on this season, allowing Antetokounmpo to operate closer to the basket.

Orlando does not have that luxury. They do not have a dominant offensive player. They were a team many expected to struggle offensively. And they are doing that.

This is the worst offense in the league and one of two teams scoring worse than 100 points per 100 possessions. Orlando has the second-worst effective field goal percentage. The team is simply not making shots.

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And while the team hopes to build on its defense, eventually the offense needs to come. Even if the defense is playing well.

"“It was defense that really parlayed into good offense in the fourth quarter,” Clifford said. “Tonight what I thought we did well except for a bit in the third quarter was we were smart. I thought our effort and our defense was good. To hold that team to 107 was very good. Ultimately, we’re going to have to start shooting the ball better.”"

Tuesday night, the Magic’s defense was completely on point. They held the Kings to 107 points and a 102.9 offensive rating. Those are numbers that will get most teams wins.

But the Magic are not most teams. They scored only 95.2 points per 100 possessions, below even their meager season average. And turnovers late in the game cost them the chance to get over the hump and into the lead. Sacramento took advantage and pulled away as Orlando continued to force offense trying to find some solution. That only made the problem worse.

The Magic said they need to put their energy more into the defensive end to create more offense. To some extent that is true. An improved defense can lead to easier scoring opportunities. But that is simply not enough.

Eventually, the team has to make shots to get the team going.

"“As of late, we haven’t made enough shots,” Jonathon Simmons said. “There is not a day we aren’t sharing the ball. We’re getting good looks, we’re just not making them. We’ve just got to make them.”"

There is very little to say other than that. The Magic just have to start making shots.