Orlando Magic not quite where they want to be offensively

The Orlando Magic are still working their way through the preseason. With one game left, they are not where they want to be but remain optimistic.

The Orlando Magic have one game left before everything counts.

After flying high through the first three games of the preseason, the last two have brought the team back down to earth. More veteran teams with real expectations to win have stifled and suffocated the team’s attack. The Magic have been humbled a bit.

It is preseason and so no one — not even coach Steve Clifford — is going to overreact to anything. The team dealt with injuries in those games and rotations are not set to regular season levels yet.

Still, he is a coach. And coaches always have to find something to work on to help their team get better and improve. They are not about to sit idly by. Especially after their team gets blown out a couple of times.

And for that, the Magic are not quite where Clifford wants them to be. And his biggest concern was perhaps the big concern coming out of the playoffs.

Against set defenses — especially elite set defenses — the Magic are struggling to generate consistent offensive push. For now, that seems to be the big thing the Orlando Magic want to improve upon before their season opener next week against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The team is not quite where it needs to be.

"“I would say the biggest thing is for the whole of the preseason is once we have broken the lineup, we haven’t been able to score in the half-court at all, including the first two games,” Clifford said after practice Wednesday. “You’ve got to have ways to put pressure on the defense. You have to be able to play without your better offensive players. These guys are not going to play 82 games. That’s where purpose of play, offensive energy. . . and that’s what leads to a lot of the turnovers.”"

Clifford said he was “not really” happy with where the team was at entering its final preseason game Thursday against the Miami Heat. He said it was not anything about the team’s attitude or approach. Players just have not played well in games and injuries have slowed some things down.

Nikola Vucevic (sprained right ankle), Terrence Ross (sprained left ankle) and Evan Fournier (back spasms) all participated in practice Wednesday for the second straight day. They all seem on track to play in Thursday’s game depending on how they feel.

Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross especially should play major minutes in their final tuneup for the regular season.

Getting everyone healthy will surely be a boost to the team’s offense to start with. Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross represent three of the Magic’s best offensive players.

But the offensive struggles are still apparent and still worrisome to the coach.

In the preseason — for as much as preseason stats are worth — Orlando is scoring 97.5 points per 100 possessions. That is the sixth-worst mark among NBA teams in the preseason. Just looking at the three wins the Magic had to start the preseason, they are posting 106.0 points per 100 possessions.

That is certainly a better mark. But Clifford is right to note it is buoyed by fast-break points. Orlando is averaging 16.6 fast-break points per game overall this preseason and 17.3 fast-break points per game in their wins.

Again, small sample sizes and preseason aside, these numbers are not encouraging for a team that is looking to rebuild its offense. It shows a team still finding its rhythm and learning how to work together.

"“The preseason has given us a balanced perspective of where we’re at and how good we can be and how much better we can get,” Jonathan Isaac said after practice Wednesday. “Taking it as it is. Coach has given us a great perspective on practicing and how to get better.”"

Jonathan Isaac said the team has to focus on the details within the offense to get things moving back in the right direction. One less pass or one less dribble can make the difference for the team getting on the same page.

The lineups have also been mixed and matched with the team’s injuries this preseason. The familiarity that boosted the team early has given way to some learning of tendencies and positioning on that end.

And losing key offensive players has not helped matters. A big thing the team has to learn is how to play without their best players all the time. That remains a struggle.

The Magic will be relying on their defense to generate offensive opportunities.

Many of the scoring outbursts the Magic had through the early part of the preseason came because the team was able to stick together defensively and force turnovers to get out in the open court. Teams were not organized enough defensively to get back and stop them.

That is something that teams slowly reel in — both their turnovers and their transition defense — as the preseason continues. As Orlando started to struggle with fouling and their own turnovers in the preseason, they have seen their own opportunities diminish.

And that has left the half-court offense struggling, creating a mixed bag for the preseason.

"“We have had some ups and downs,” Ross said after practice Wednesday. “But that’s essentially what’s going to happen in the course of the year. We have had the right mindset of going forward and getting better. We still have a little time to tune some things up. I think we’re going to be fine.”"

The Magic spent at least part of their practice Wednesday installing some new offense and offensive sets. The team has not had a ton of practice time since games began and so the three days of practice since Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers have surely helped the team shore up some of these deficiencies.

Orlando Magic

But ultimately, there is still a sense this is just the preseason and how it is. The inconsistencies will wash away as the team makes its final preparations for the season and employs a rotation designed to win rather than designed to try out different combinations and ensure everyone plays some meaningful minutes.

Clifford might have been gruff with his immediate assessment of his team. But his overall outlooks is good.

He said he is still confident the team will round into form once they start to employ normal rotations and develop as a team. Preseason basketball has taken on a different form since it got abbreviated and so it is hard to make any sweeping conclusions from games.

This is just the work a team has to put in to get there.

"“It’s all how you evolve,” Clifford said Wednesday. “We have a good team and I’m going to be disappointed if we don’t play well. We have to be able to score. Do I think we can be good? Yeah. The NBA is all about that. That’s what the whole thing is. What you learn over time is not to overreact, but you also learn to live in facts.”"

But right now the facts are that Orlando’s offense is struggling and it is Clifford’s job to get them out of that rut.