5 big takeaways from the Orlando Magic’s preseason

Orlando Magic: 5 takeaways from the preseason

Pace, Space and the Three

A lot of the attention in the Orlando Magic’s preseason was spent on the team’s defense. This is going to be the backbone for the team and where everything will sprout from. Orlando will go only as far as their defense and defensive energy will take them.

But this is still a very offensive league. Teams will be better offensively once the preseason experimenting and rotations are done. At the end of the day, you have to score. Defense is not enough.

The Magic’s offensive philosophy is still evolving. But it is a much more modern and high-speed offense.

Jamahl Mosley wants his team to pick up the pace and turn their defense into offense. The best offense still comes before the defense gets set.

That is also why he has emphasized what he has called “21-offense,” which means getting into the team’s set and crossing half-court with 21 seconds left on the shot clock.

That is the speed at which Mosley wants everything run. That is a different mindset for sure.

The results in the preseason were decidedly mixed. The team at times seemed to get it and find their groove, spacing the floor and hitting 3-pointers. At other times, the team seemed stuck and unsure what to do when their set broke down.

These are all things Mosley wants his team to experience and figure out. And he seems to be empowering his players to make those decisions on their own and trusting them to make reads and feel the game.

The offense is going to be a work in progress for the team. That is where the team has a dearth of talent at the moment.

Surprisingly, the Magic are last in pace in the NBA preseason averaging 98.6 possessions per 48 minutes.

It should be noted though that most of the players on the floor when the Magic played at their slowest pace were G-League or camp invite players. Among the starters and rotation players, the Magic’s pace ranged from 96.9 possessions per 48 minutes (Wendell Carter) to 104.0 (R.J. Hampton) with a median pace of 100.3 possessions per 48 minutes among the eight projected rotation players.

This is all to say, the Magic could probably look to get more possessions when the season begins. They are looking at a different definition of pace.

Still, that is not encouraging. It suggests the team is not getting out in transition or scoring quickly. They are still working the shot clock down to try to get a good shot — or not getting one at all.

It is not all bad though. Orlando was surprisingly a solid 3-point shooting team. The Magic made 36.6-percent of their 3-pointers (putting them in the top-10 for the preseason) while still shooting a little more than 33 attempts per game.

That jump in efficiency is at least promising for a team not known for its shooting. And it figures to be a key part of the team.

Mosley said the team is still installing offense. So the team will be growing within the offense as the season progresses. There are still finer points to get down.