NBA Playoffs: 3 Keys for the Orlando Magic to win Game 4 over the Toronto Raptors

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Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors

TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 16: Evan Fournier #10 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Toronto Raptors during Game Two of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 16, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Making shots

Steve Clifford is a Pat Riley disciple. And like other Pat Riley disciples, including former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, they like to say this league comes down to a simple thing.

It is that now all-too-cliche phrase turned into a segment on ESPN’s The Jump: It is a make or miss league.

Clifford has taken to sort of mocking the idea of adjustments — even though it is clear the Magic have tweaked and changed some things tactically on both ends — to say that the biggest adjustment to make is to have the guy who went, say, 1 for 12 one game go 6 for 12 the next. That would create quite the swing in momentum.

The answer for the Magic in some sense really is that simple. They have to make shots.

In Game 1, Orlando shot just 40.0 percent from the floor but hit on 14 of 29 3-pointers (48.3 percent). D.J. Augustin getting free for the game-winning 3-pointer feels like one of the last few clean looks the Magic have gotten since.

In Game 2, Orlando shot 9 for 34 (26.5 percent) from beyond the arc and 37.5 percent from the floor. The Magic were not much better at home, making only 13 of 44 3-pointers (29.5 percent) and 36.3 percent overall.

Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

It is easy to say the Magic took too many 3-pointers and settled for those shots in taking 44 attempts. Orlando is a better 3-point shooting team than some might give them credit for, but Toronto is certainly OK with Orlando shooting from beyond the arc. The Raptors have to consider it a win if Jonathan Isaac, Wesley Iwundu, Michael Carter-Williams and even Aaron Gordon are firing from the outside.

Evan Fournier’s poor 1-for-12 shooting performance, including 1 for 8 from beyond the arc, was certainly a welcome development for them.

It is hard to say the Magic are taking terrible shots. At least on paper.

According to NBA.com, the Magic were 12 for 29 (41.4 percent) on 3-pointers where the defender was six or more feet away. Orlando hit wide open 3-pointers at a solid rate.

It was just that they took an additional 15 3-pointers that were contested in some way (and struggled on open 3-pointers at 1 for 7 when the opponent was 4-6 feet away).

For the series, the Magic are shooting 37.8 percent overall and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. In the series, Orlando has made 41.7 percent of their wide open 3-pointers (no defender within six feet) with 20.0 attempts per game of this type.

Orlando’s 35.6 3-point attempts per game is an increase over its 32.1 per game. But not a huge increase. The Magic are just missing a lot of their contested shots and struggling inside the lane (more on that in a moment).

But, quite simply, if the Magic want to break down this Raptors defense and score more efficiently and effectively, they have to make outside shots. The Magic need to make the Raptors pay for leaving shooters open and actually make shots.

Sometimes the answer is that simple. Orlando has to make shots.