The Magic will not be a turnover machine
The big concern coach Steve Clifford had throughout the preseason was the high turnover count for the Orlando Magic.
The team had 79 turnovers total in its final four games. It was something Clifford harped on repeatedly for blowout losses to the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers and then even in the preseason finale against the Miami Heat.
These were simple mistakes that were symptoms of the team’s struggles offensively and inability to get into the paint or get paint touches consistently. That was certainly part of it.
But a high turnover rate is sort of part and parcel to the preseason.
The Magic’s 19.8 turnovers per game in that stretch would have been 18th among all teams that participated in the NBA preseason. The team’s overall 18.2 turnovers per game in the preseason was 11th overall among all teams in the preseason.
The Magic’s overall 17.4 percent turnover rate was 15th in the league.
None of these numbers are any good. Orlando cannot turn the ball over if it wants any chance to succeed this season. This team has a small margin for error on that end. And turnovers will enable teams to run against the Magic and try to beat them before their defense can get set.
Protecting the ball was key to the team’s success last year.
Last year, the Magic had a 13.3 percent turnover rate (sixth overall). From Jan. 31 to the end of the year, the Magic had a 12.4 percent turnover rate (seventh for that time period). Orlando’s identity was protecting the ball.
That identity evaporated in the playoffs. The Toronto Raptors were able to beat the Orlando Magic largely because they forced a 16.3 percent turnover rate from the Magic.
This is not nothing. And coaches are always going to worry more about how their team is playing rather than look to compare them to other teams. Clifford is not one to let mistakes sit. He wants to get the team back to work.
But turnovers are clearly a problem throughout the league in the preseason. So when Evan Fournier said after Thursday’s game that the team’s turnover problem was something they could easily fix with more work and play together, that is something we should take at his word.
Clifford said turnovers were a bit high in the practices since the preseason finale. But he liked the team’s overall purpose and intensity. The going thought, as it is for most teams, is that turnovers will decrease as teams establish their regular-season rhythm.
By comparison, the Magic’s turnovers were not that big of a problem.