The Orlando Magic showed their competitive spirit and fight in Game 3. But they still fell short. It comes down to their execution and shotmaking.
The Orlando Magic know the right way they have to play. It has been drilled into them enough times over the course of the year and the playoffs have only served to further drive this point home. Any deviation or momentary lapse can have some major harmful effects.
The Orlando Magic’s 98-93 Game 3 loss to the Toronto Raptors brought that into focus even more.
The Magic played a solid game, recovering from an overwhelming playoff moment in Game 2. They gave themselves a chance to win in Game 3. But there were several areas of the game where the team fell well short.
It is these moments that have come to define this series and have left the Magic a bit perplexed.
"“I think it’s more offensively,” Evan Fournier said. “We turn the ball over. We were kind of surprised by what they do defensively even though we know what they are about to do. It takes us a little bit of time to adjust, I guess.”"
Orlando has been playing catch up and easing into the game too much in this series. The Raptors have dictated things to them throughout.
For the second straight game, the Magic spotted the Raptors a double-digit lead, turning the ball over four times in the first four minutes and five times in the five 5:20 of the game. That is a sure way to get the Raptors moving.
In those moments, Orlando again looked a bit rattled from Toronto’s pressure. The Raptors again made every pass hard and trapped the team to the point where the Magic could barely operate.
The team again struggled in the third quarter, giving up a 16-0 run after taking a one-point lead. The offense would just disappear for long stretches of the game as the Raptors increased their pressure and the Magic struggled to get shots.
Evan Fournier especially had a rough night, shooting 1 for 12 from the floor. He said he has to do a better job letting go of frustrating plays and missed shots. Fournier criticized his own shot selection at times as his frustration over a poor Game 3 — and even a difficult series — has grown.
Orlando has played without some of their key players on offense contributing in the way the team needs. The whole series has been an uphill climb.
The issue though is not about the team’s effort or energy. Not all the time. If anything, coach Steve Clifford was impressed with how the Magic approached Game 3. Their 104.3 defensive rating in this game was a sign of how well they played on that end overall. They were certainly competitive enough to win.
The issue is something much simpler. The team has the will and spirit to compete, but it now comes down to execution. What in coachspeak is often called a “purpose of play.”
"“Our effort last night and our spirit and our fight were really good,” Clifford said. “The problem is late night is the purpose part. It’s not enough to play hard against a team like this. You’re not going to have a lot of room for error. You have to play hard and play with purpose and we didn’t do that.”"
It comes down to the Magic making quicker, simple plays, Clifford said. Playing with a better purpose of play is about executing the offense and cutting harder, screening harder and getting into their sets quicker. It is about knowing the defense they face and knowing where the next outlet is to stick with what is working.
It means not getting caught in traps and turning the ball over. It is an aggressive mindset the Magic have not always had this series as the Raptors upped their defensive intensity.
Toronto put its foot down pretty quickly after Orlando took the lead in the third quarter. And the Magic never really got the offense back.
These have been the bigger problems in this series and why Orlando has a 97.2 offensive rating in three games (small sample size alert) and are shooting a 45.0 percent effective field goal percentage. The Magic are simply unable to execute their offense for long enough to make an impact.
But it is clear when things are working well, they can work really well. Orlando erased a 17-point deficit in the second half to close to within three. They eliminated a 12-point lead with four minutes to play to give themselves a chance to win.
The Magic can find the will to execute and execute cleanly. But that 48-minute game is still elusive.
"“We feel like we can get any shot we want against their defense,” D.J. Augustin said. “It’s just a matter of us being ready and being ready to shoot the ball and knock it down. If we keep getting those shots, they will fall. But we have to do that from the start.”"
The Magic struggled a lot with their shooting in Game 3, hitting only 36.2 percent of their shots and 13 of 44 3-pointers. According to NBA.com, the Magic were 13 of 36 on 3-pointers where the closest defender was more than four feet away. Orlando missed a fair amount of good looks.
Whether those shots were rushed because of the oncoming defense or not is certainly a fair question. So too is the potential that these 3-pointers are the kinds of shots the Raptors want to give up too. Jonathan Isaac took seven 3-point attempts and Evan Fournier went 1 for 8 on 3-pointers in the game.
Clifford said this time of year it is simple sometimes. The team has to make shots. And whether a team makes or misses shots will determine outcomes. Results are all that matters at this point of the season.
Orlando Magic
The Magic are finding how much heightened their execution needs to be. And this is the big thing missing from their efforts to get back into this series.
Orlando has their backs against the wall. While Clifford would not call Game 4 a must-win, it certainly feels like it. Fournier would call it a must-win. Facing a 3-1 deficit heading back to Toronto for Game 5 would be a tall order. Even just to force a Game 6.
The Magic have no concern they will be ready for Game 4.
"‘We’ll definitely respond,” D.J. Augustin said. “We’re not going to back down or give up. We’ve come too far to get where we are today to just give up. We’re going to fight to the end. They are a great team, but we feel like we are right there with them. We feel like we should have won last night. We have another chance at home to win a game.”"
The question for the Magic is not about their spirit or willingness to play hard. It is simply about whether they can execute effectively and efficiently enough to get a win in the playoffs.