Orlando Magic’s offensive woes doom them from contending in the East

The Orlando Magic took home court from Toronto in Game 1 but offensive inconsistencies have plummeted by losing three straight games to a Raptors team led by Kawhi Leonard.

First, it was Game 3.

With the series all tied at one apiece, the Orlando Magic had the opportunity of a lifetime. They were set up in a position to steal a series from the number two seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Toronto Raptors.

The Magic had national exposure on a Friday night must-win game in Orlando and they squandered the opportunity early — just as they did in a frustrating Game 2 defeat.

Toronto scored the first 12 points of the game and won the first quarter 26-21. The Magic were again struggling to get their offense going after a poor performance in Game 2 — an 82-point performance with an 87.2 offensive rating.

Orlando trailed for much of Game 3, giving up a 16-0 run in the third quarter after taking a one-point lead. Orlando cut a 12-point deficit with four minutes to play down to three before Toronto closed the game with key offensive rebounds.

The Magic have had a tough time cracking the Raptors’ defense all series. After torching the Raptors in Game 1 for 104 points and a 105.1 offensive rating, the Magic have not cleared a point per possession in any game since. The team is posting only 96.0 points per 100 possessions this postseason.

The team still has not found the rhythm and purpose they played with in Game 1. And it looks to be too late.

Backs against the wall

After a 107-85 loss to Toronto in Game 4, Orlando finds itself in a do-or-die situation in Tuesday’s Game 5. The Magic have forced themselves into a corner, having to win their next three games to stay alive.

The Magic have played some of their best basketball when people have counted them out of it.  After the Orlando Magic lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards to fall to 31-38 and 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot, the Magic won six straight games.

Although only one of those six teams are currently in the Playoffs, this is an example of how the team performs with their backs to the wall. The team has had to scramble and fight just to get to this point in the season, making up ground at the end of the season.

This is the playoffs though. A much more difficult task with a much more difficult opponent. Winning three straight games seems to be a mountain that is just too high to climb for this young, inexperienced team.

To climb that mountain Orlando is going to need to see some drastic improvements on offense.

Offensive struggles

The Magic have struggled at times simply to run their offense effectively. They have given up deflections and turnovers at unusual rates. Orlando has a 16.1 percent turnover rate this series. Against this Toronto team that is a death knell with its ability to convert those points in transition.

During the regular season, Orlando had a 13.3 turnover rate, the eighth-best mark in the league. The high turnovers are uncharacteristic of this team and a credit to Toronto’s swarming defense that has frustrated Orlando.

On top of this, the Magic have simply struggled to shoot. They are making only 38.9 percent of their shots in the playoffs (only the Detroit Pistons are worse) and 30.7 percent of their 3-point attempts. Orlando shot 45.4 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc (11th in the league) during the regular season.

The Magic ranked 24th in points per game in 2019 and had the 22nd best offense in the league at 108.1 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. That number expectedly dropped in the playoffs going up against one of the best defense in the league, but it has been a bigger drop than expected.

Certainly bigger than this team could survive.

The offense has been the Magic’s biggest issue in the series. Even in their Game 1 win, the Magic only scored 104 points.

Nikola Vucevic’s struggles

A lot of this has to do with Nikola Vucevic‘s inconsistencies offensively. After averaging 20.8 points per game in the regular season. He only scored 17 points in the first two games as the Raptors successfully clogged his pick and roll opportunities and trapped him hard in the paint.

That was highly uncharacteristic scoring output for the Magic’s leading scorer, especially with so much on the line. When the team does not have any proven 20-plus-point scorers on the roster, it is tough to get the defense to react and give anything up. Vucevic’s struggles have made it harder for everyone else to find space to operate.

Even though the Magic won Game 1, the lack of offensive output by the team’s best scorer had to have some type of effect on the team as a whole. Vucevic has not led the team in scoring in the series. He is only averaging 12.5 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting against the Raptors.

This was supposed to be Vucevic’s coming out party, he finally made an All-Star roster, he finally made the Playoffs to be considered a top center, and then this performance. The Raptors’ game plan against him has frustrated and rushed him, essentially taking him out of the series.

Orlando’s offense has hit a rut and if the team wants to make this comeback, it has to find some offensive force, as coach Steve Clifford puts it. And the Magic have to make shots.

Orlando Magic

One last chance

To be sure, beating the Magic four straight times is not going to be easy. The team can still play solid defense and when it gets set can hold its own even against Kawhi Leonard. Orlando can give itself a chance to win.

Toronto will have to take the game away from Orlando on Tuesday night as the team did in Central Florida during the weekend. The Magic will play hard if this is indeed their last game of the year.

If this is their last game then they have a lot to hold their heads up high about. Not only did they win the Southeast Division, but the Magic also exceeded everyone’s expectation of who they are.

They still have a lot of things to work on in the offseason and offensive production is chief among them. This series exposed their lack of shooting and lack of perimeter creation. Toronto has been able to pack the paint and prevent dribble penetration while doubling any offensive threat that catches the ball.

For a repeat playoff appearance, the Magic will have to hope Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon continue their offensive development and they can add more two-way players to the team in the offseason.

Orlando has had some impressive moments this postseason. The Magic may lose this series in five, but they certainly made the Raptors work for that five, requiring some incredible performances from Leonard to put this series away.

Whether the Magic can improve their offense will determine how their future shakes out.