The difference for the Orlando Magic is 3-pointers

The Orlando Magic had an offensive breakthrough against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The big difference for them was their 3-point shooting, of course.

Things started off swimmingly for the Orlando Magic.

Jonathan Isaac blocked a shot and got a steal on the first possession of the game. Aaron Gordon expertly forwarded the ball to Jonathan Isaac for a layup to give the team an early 2-0 lead.

That play set the defensive tone. The Orlando Magic were suffocating the Memphis Grizzlies. They forced eight turnovers and they started getting easy baskets in transition. Orlando had 22 points off Memphis’ 18 turnovers in the team’s 118-86 win at Amway Center on Friday.

Orlando’s starting unit was active and energetic. They took advantage of a team that is plucky and can score but was overmatched in this game. Especially against a potentially elite team.

Still, Orlando broke its lineup and the bad habits returned. The ball stopped moving side to side and the team started settling for mid-range jumpers. When the Magic were not able to get deflections, steals and turnovers to create easy offense, they found it hard to create the easy points it is quickly apparent this offense needs.

The Grizzlies came back and took the lead in the second quarter very briefly. All the while, the Magic were stuck searching for their rhythm. They missed 11 of their first 12 3-pointers. And the lack of respect for the Magic’s shooters was apparent.

Memphis routinely created a wall across the paint as the Magic tried to create penetration but could never get deep into the paint. They had to settle for 3-pointers — some contested, some not — and hope they went in.

This is a frustrating position to be in. Better defenses than Memphis will spend a lot of time using similar zone-like defensive strategies, daring Orlando to prove it can hit from the outside.

So far this season, the Magic have not proven that. They have made only 26.5 percent of their 3-pointers. The Grizzlies were never able to make the Magic truly pay for their poor offense.

It proved just enough time for the Magic to wake up. And that came when Evan Fournier hit a pair of 3-pointers at the beginning of the third quarter. That got everything going.

Orlando played its best offensive half of the season in the third quarter — including a 34-8 romping in the fourth quarter to blow the game wide open. The Magic posted a 134.0 offensive rating in the second half. They made 6 of 16 3-pointers.

That is not a crazy percentage. The Magic do not need to hit a lot of 3-pointers. They just need to make enough to keep the defense honest and keep pace with their opponent. The Grizzlies also made six 3-pointers in the second half.

But it is clear how vital the Magic’s 3-point shooting is to unlocking anything in this offense. At the very least, the team needs to hit a few just to get the defense out of the paint and enable their best players to drive and work the pick and roll.

This is what spacing is all about.

And so it is clear 3-point differential is really the important statistic for this team. Orlando’s defense has proven to be exceptional early in the season (back up to third at 99.3 points allowed per 100 possessions after Friday’s win).

Against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, the Orlando Magic made only three 3-pointers to Oklahoma City’s 12. In Wednesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic made only six 3-pointers against Dallas’ 11.

The percentage for the team matters — they have to be more effective with their makes — but these differentials give the team a smaller margin for error. Against Dallas, it took only two J.J. Barea 3-pointers to end the second half to erase a comfortable lead and turn it into a game.

It is tough to overcome these differentials. Teams know this. And the Magic are just not going to be effective until they hit enough 3-pointers to match or stay competitive with their opponent.

That is the risk of the Magic’s defense right now. Without reliable 3-point shooting, a couple of quick baskets can undo a lot of good work defensively. And late in games, the team still has execution issues that the threat of a 3-pointer would help fix.

It is not necessarily about the Magic changing their attempts or taking more or fewer 3-pointers. Orlando’s 3-point problem is as much about the team’s defense as anything else — although opponents are making only 10.6 3-pointers per game against the Magic, 10th in the league.

Clearly the way for the Magic to get into an offensive rhythm is to hit from the outside and get the defense to move out of the paint. That is the key to everything.

Orlando can weave in and out of the paint all they want, but they are not finding any space to get off quality shots. Everything is contested and the defense either recovers to the 3-point shooters because the penetration is not deep enough or they give up a three to a player they want to shoot.

The key to everything for the Magic is quite simply their shooting. When Orlando hits from the outside, the team is able to create off the dribble and get into the paint. The defense has to bend and break.

When the team does not, its offense becomes a struggle. And that puts the Magic’s defense in a more compromising position, both defending transition and to be perfect and contest shots.

The defense has proven good for Orlando. Perhaps even elite.

But that defense is not going to mean a whole lot if the team is not making shots and finding ways to get in the interior.

It has been a broken record, but 3-point shooting is that key. On Friday night, the Magic found it.