The Orlando Magic offense has started to show signs of life and is surging a bit. They can thank a refocus on paint touches for getting them there.
Sometimes, the Orlando Magic just have things working.
Aaron Gordon caught a rebound on the wing after a missed shot in Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He began to probe the defense and reset the play. The floor was imbalanced after the miss and the team had to quickly reset.
But Aaron Gordon had his eyes on the basket and he begins working quickly.
Wesley Iwundu cut through to clear the space. But his defender decides to keep an eye on Gordon. So Aaron Gordon engaged, driving under control as Wesley Iwundu began running through the lane.
Gordon drew the second defender as he neared the paint and then deftly wrapped the ball around them to Iwundu with a path to the basket. Iwundu quickly rose and jammed it with two hands.
That is a heady play, a difficult play from a wing still growing as a playmaker. But it is the kind of offense the Magic have displayed lately.
They are attacking the basket and getting into the lane, drawing the defense to them and creating the kind of open shots on the perimeter and lanes to the basket that teams have to find. Orlando is making these sometimes difficult plays and reaping the rewards.
The Magic are in a rhythm.
Terrence Ross probably more than anyone else. He was coming hard around screens and firing quickly, making just about everything that left his hand. His big 3-pointer, his sixth of the game Thursday, iced the game against the Timberwolves.
Orlando’s offense is rolling.
"“When we play the right way, those are the type of things that can happen for us,” Terrence Ross said after Thursday’s game. “We need to pay attention more to what’s getting us to where we’re at. I think it’s more important to build on that and grow from it and come back the next day hungry to learn and take it from there.”"
Ross has been a big part of the Magic suddenly surging offensively. The numbers back it up. This team is playing some of its best offense of the year.
Orlando shot 54.2 percent from the floor and scored 122 points for the second straight game. The Magic followed up a 69-point first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, a season-high, with 71 first-half points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Going beyond Ross going through a scoring binge that has seen him score at least 25 points in three of his last four games, including his second and third career 30-point game. There is something else to it.
Ross has been on a tear. But so have the entire Orlando Magic team. They are freeing each other up and a lot of players are playing at a much higher level offensively.
"“We executed pretty well,” Gordon said after Thursday’s game. “Everybody is playing to their strengths and everyone is contributing. That’s the biggest part. It’s what we need from this team.”"
This is not some flash in the pan thing.
The Magic have scored at least 100 points in 12 of the past 14 games. That is a small thing in a league that is tilting heavily offensively. But the Magic have just 34 total games scoring more than 100 points this year.
These are small victories that need to turn into actual victories still. But there is no denying the Magic have had their struggles offensively.
Orlando is 24th in the league in offensive rating at 105.7 points per 100 possessions. That is not a good mark but it is actually rising of late.
The Magic have had an above-average offensive rating in 11 of the past 14 games (since coming back from the West Coast road trip in early January). Since January 12, the Magic have a 110.4 offensive rating. That is 14th in the league in that timeframe.
That may not be anything world-beating, but it is a positive step forward. And despite a 6-8 record in those games, the Magic have a positive net rating. If anything, the Magic need to redouble their efforts to bring their defense back under control to pick up more wins.
That is probably not something anyone would have said when the Magic established their base in December. There it looked like their defense would be the backbone to their success. Relying wholly on the team’s offense has never been a formula for success for this team.
But these signs are encouraging.
Orlando Magic
Coach Steve Clifford credited the team’s sudden surge of offense to the team’s ability to get paint touches and get inside. That is something he has often cited for the team finding offensive success.
"“The biggest number is that when the ball hits the paint,” Clifford said. “When we are more inside out, that would be any team frankly. Basketball is a game where it’s spacing and penetration and they go together. There are not many guys in this league where the ball doesn’t have to go inside. There are not many players, even as great as these guys, not that many guys shoot nearly the percentage that they do from three off the dribble as they do on the catch. Your spot ups mostly come from penetration.”"
According to NBA.com’s Second Spectrum tracking statistics, the Magic have 23.1 paint touches per game, 16th in the league. The Magic score 20.3 points per game off paint touches, 17th in the league. That accounts for 87.9 percent of the team’s points.
Since Jan. 12, the Magic are 12th in the league with 24.5 paint touches per game and seventh in the league with 22.7 points off paint touches per game. That total accounts for 92.7 percent of the team’s points.
It is, of course, obvious that getting the ball closer to the basket causes the defense to collapse and opens up passing lanes. Closer shots mean easier baskets, theoretically.
These statistics confirm basic basketball logic.
They have been small changes it seems for the Magic’s offense, but they have gone a long way to giving the team a firmer offensive footing.
"“I think we’ve just been doing a good job moving the ball, sharing the ball and playing with a purpose and then playing inside-out,” Nikola Vucevic said. “We’re hitting the rollers and kicking when the guy comes to help. We just have to keep it going. Just good decisions, playing for each other, not forcing things and making the defense work.”"
The Magic needed to find a way to get into the paint. Right now they are clearly doing so and their offense is benefiting.
None of that matters without bringing the wins that should come with it. The Magic have ground to make up and simply treading water and relying on the offense to outscore teams is not a formula for ultimate success.
But the offense is clicking for the Magic. If they are doing something consistently right now, it seems like it is playing offense at a solid level and putting in good effort.
That could very well keep them afloat and allow them to make a push if they stick to it.