Orlando Magic’s offensive focus is on pace

The Orlando Magic’s offense last year struggled to get going until they started picking up the pace. The full focus for this team offensively is running.

The Orlando Magic’s Exhibit 10, two-way and future G-League players are going through the offense. But this is no walkthrough.

These players likely have no chance to make the roster. The Magic have already cut one of them — Hassani Gravett. Yet the intensity is undeniable. The speed is undeniable.

Going through these sets right behind where the media is talking to another table, it is hard to ignore the pounding of the basketball and the squeaking of sneakers as they work to get the offense down for the rest of training camp and for when they get into the game.

Practice fast. Play fast.

And that seems to be the overall goal for the team.

"“We’re doing it now,” Terrence Ross said last week as the team completed training camp. “Even the guys who are running some script offense right now are doing it to get our pace better. We are doing it better than we did last year with the way we are running it and what we are looking for. Guys are so familiar with it, it’s become easier than it was last year.”"

The Magic have familiarity and continuity. But that might not say much from last year when the team finished 22nd in the with a 108.2 offensive rating. They did not have a clear identity offensively, relying heavily on pick and rolls and cutting off Nikola Vucevic.

As the Magic looked back at their playoff appearance, they could point to their poor offense as the biggest culprit of coming up short and failing to make the series more competitive. The Toronto Raptors were able to choke off the team’s offensive outlets.

Even with much the same roster back, the Magic understood something had to change offensively. Especially if the defense was going to remain so strong.

Coach Steve Clifford talked a lot during the offseason about this need to change the offense. He settled on trying to pick up the pace. The idea is to get out in transition more and try to create easy scoring opportunities.

But obviously, the Magic see a way to leverage their athleticism to increase their chances for easy points.

"“I think we can pick up the pace a little bit and get some easy baskets for us, create some baskets off turnovers,” Michael Carter-Williams said at media day. “That is what we are really stressing this year. Getting more deflections, getting more steals and getting out and going. Getting the ball up and down the floor. I think that will help us out a lot. We have great shooters on this team, guys who can score inside, we have guys who can get to the rim. We just need to utilize that and pick up the pace a little bit.”"

This was undoubtedly a struggle for the team last year.

Orlando finished the year 24th in pace at 98.7 possessions per 48 minutes, according to NBA.com’s Stats database.

Even more, the team finished 25th with 10.8 fast-break points per game. For a team with long athletic wings like Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, slowing the pace down that much would seem to take away their advantages playing in space and with an open floor.

As the Magic turned things around last year though, their pace increased noticeably. Playing faster and getting out in transition was a clear benefit for them.

In those final 31 games of the regular season, the Magic played at a pace of 99.4 possessions per 48 minutes (20th in the league) and scored 12.5 fastbreak points per game (22nd in the league).

These are both modest increases, but still fairly significant over their full-season averages.

With Michael Carter-Williams on the floor, NBAWOWY calculates the Magic had a pace of 101.6 possessions per 48 minutes. And the offense took a big jump with the team scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions with Carter-Williams on the floor. That web site calculates the Magic with a season-long pace of 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes and 109.9 points per 100 possessions.

No matter how it is calculated, the Magic did not accumulate a ton of possessions last year. They played under control and tried to limit their own mistakes while forcing teams to beat their set defense.

This has always been the character of Clifford’s teams. As president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman — and everyone on the team — said when they introduced him, Steve Clifford teams do not beat themselves.

But it is also undeniable just how much better the Magic were playing at a quicker pace. Part of what the team experienced in inserting Isaiah Briscoe and Michael Carter-Williams into the rotation over Jerian Grant was just how much more energetic and quicker the team played.

The Magic’s focus seems to be on increasing this pace and playing faster, seeking more fast-break opportunities and playing quicker. Pace is not merely just about possessions.

So far, the results have looked good.

In two preseason games, the Magic are playing at a pace of 105.5 possessions per 48 minutes, according to NBA.com’s stats database. That is still in the bottom half of the league as pace is usually up during the break-neck preseason. But that is still significantly higher than last year’s number.

Perhaps, more importantly, the Magic have 19.0 fast-break points per game. The team is getting out in transition and trying to score easy baskets before the defense gets set.

Players like Markelle Fultz have talked about playing with pace and trying to push the ball more. The team is letting Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac grab rebounds and immediately turn upcourt. Mohamed Bamba is running the floor well and has become an easy target running rim to rim.

Orlando Magic

These are simple things the team can do to score more efficiently and effectively. The Magic understand their half-court offense will still have its struggles.

That has been evident in two preseason games. The Magic have been really good offensively (113.2 points per 100 possessions in the preseason), but their offense has gotten stuck at times when they slow their pace down and are unable to get out in transition or get their offense into a good rhythm.

The Magic appear to be running quicker sets and moving faster into their offense. That is important to maximize their time on the shot clock. But early on in the preseason, it is also clear the Magic are more together than most teams. Defenses will catch up.

Still, the emphasis on getting out in transition will help this team’s offense improve. It has already made the offense more aesthetically pleasing to watch and had clear results during the last half of the 2019 season.

But starting fast breaks and picking up the pace inevitably starts on defense. That is the Magic’s bread and butter.

All their offensive improvement will come as their defense continues to improve and harden.

"“Picking up our pace on offense really starts with our defense,” D.J. Augustin said after a practice last week. “If we can get steals and deflections and rebound the ball quickly and get it out, we will be able to run and score easy baskets. Defense has always been our focus. The offense will come. But we are trying to get easy baskets in transition.”"

Clifford is conservative by nature. Like Stan Van Gundy, he wants his team to keep their man in front and stick to their defensive principles. He does not want players gambling or getting out of position. But the team can still be opportunistic.

And when they get stops, the goal now is to get the ball out and turn upcourt quickly.

The Magic have a lot more offense they can unlock. With their athleticism and versatility, they should be able to hit running lanes and get easy baskets.

The team is not going to play out of control or at a break-neck pace. Clifford still wants the team to play with poise and control.

But increasing the pace will help the team tremendously break some of its half-court offensive frustrations and take advantage of their personnel and their defense.