Orlando Magic still looking to crack offensive consistency

The Orlando Magic knew they had a tall task trying to slow down the star-powered Brooklyn Nets. They would need some decent defense, which for long stretches they got, but their offense had to also come along for the ride.

That has been one of the most difficult parts for the team. Their offense can look brilliant for long stretches and then others, it gets stuck, unable to create dribble penetration and paint touches. Unable to work the ball inside-out.

Orlando can fight all it wants. And the team certainly did deep into the third quarter trailing by 12 with Terrence Ross at the line for three with 1:36 to play (he would make just one to stymie all momentum).

But none of it seems to matter if the team is unable to get quality looks — or make the good looks they do get.

The offense simply died turning a tough and frustrating loss into a blowout home defeat.

The Orlando Magic’s offense can look brilliant at times, but too often the team loses its principles and the team grinds to a halt.

Brooklyn finished the quarter on a 9-1 push to expand the lead. They would build it to as much as 34 points in the fourth quarter. Orlando was unable to get a shot to go down to stop the bleeding — a far too familiar tune.

The Magic shot 38.0-percent from the floor and 4 for 33 from beyond the arc (12.1-percent). They were unable to unlock that defense once again in a 123-90 loss to the Nets at Amway Center on Wednesday.

This was not simply a young team taking its lumps from a title contender with both superstars playing at their absolute best, this was a repeated lesson for the team.

Orlando’s still-struggling offense again could not get itself going.

"“I think coach [Jamahl] Mosley hit it off in the locker room when he said it was the first game we didn’t compete,” Mo Bamba said after Wednesday’s game. “We didn’t have that ‘it’ factor. Obviously, they have five or six hall of famers on that team. it was a matter of giving them too much respect. We’ve just got to go out there and compete like our backs are against the wall.”"

The Magic indeed seemed to let go of the rope, giving into the team’s bad habit of trying to do too much to get back in the game.

Orlando was outscored 29-15 in the fourth quarter as the team shot 7 for 23 and just 1 for 12. The Nets burst out to a 13-2 run to expand the lead to 28 points as Orlando made several mistakes with fouls, turnovers and quick shots in the process.

Orlando was simply climbing uphill unable to stop the bleeding. It was that way the whole game.

The Magic were able to get into the paint, outscoring the Nets 50-38 inside. But they still committed far too many turnovers — 17 points, although for just 10 points — and those long misses from settling for deep shots fed the Nets’ fast break.

Orlando was simply struggling to stay with Brooklyn and they dug themselves a hole that the Nets were happy to keep at them with.

"“I think it was a good teaching point of how we have to play,” Terrence Ross said after Wednesday’s game. “Sometimes shots aren’t going to fall and you’ve still got to stick to your principles and stick to the way that you play. They were making tough shots, but that’s what they do. We’ve got to make it tough for them. For us, we’ve got to speed things up and get to more actions and be aggressive. We’re still figuring it out. We’ll get better over time.”"

Ross was one of the few bright spots offensively, scoring 17 points and making 7 of 14 shots. He did not take a 3-pointer in the game, instead, doing a good job taking the shallow cuts the defense gave him and attacking space. He got cooking and into a rhythm and Orlando rode him to get back into the game.

Ross said he is still trying to figure out where he will get his shots from within the new offense. There are still clearly adjustments going throughout the offense for players. That is emblematic of larger adjustments still going on.

And there have been bright moments — even in this game.

All of Orlando’s best moments came from playing with this aggressive mindset on both ends. Their best run in the second quarter came when Franz Wagner knocked the ball away from Kevin Durant on back-to-back possessions, including one that ended with a breakaway jam.

There were moments when the Magic were more than game to defend.

But the Magic’s offense would then go fallow against a strong Nets defense. And they would again settle for bad shots and get frustrated on the other end.

"“A team like that, they want to switch especially with their starting lineup,” Bamba said after Wednesday’s game. “We have to play with more pace, play within the gaps and we’ve got to get the ball moving to the second side. I think oftentimes, we break off and get down a basket or two or three and start to play hero ball. I have to do a better job to put our guards in a position to where they can make easy passes and get to the second side.”"

That was a consistent them throughout the postgame. Orlando’s struggle to get to the second side of the floor and reverse the ball to get the defense moving and rotating.

Orlando, despite some positive signs and moments, still ranks 26th in field goal percentage (42.2-percent), 22nd in 3-point field goal percentage (a severe drop from last week to 33.0-percent), 28th in scoring (99.7 points per game) and 27th in offensive rating (101.1 points per 100 possessions).

The Magic’s offense is still very much a huge work in progress. Tough defenses like the Nets’ that switch every screen do well to knock the team off rhythm. Especially with the pressure their offense creates.

"“I think the shots weren’t falling,” Mosley said after Wednesday’s game. “They got some easy ones. But they also hit some tough ones. At the end of the day, shots being made and shots being missed plays a big part of that. It’s a game of runs. They went on their run early. We tried to bounce back. We’ve just got to try to continue fighting through those situations.”"

Orlando is still figuring out how to weather the storms and stick to its offensive principles, continuing to do the things the team does well when the offense is humming. The team has seen that enough to know it can do that.

But the consistency is not there, whether it comes in the form of missed shots (open or otherwise) or turnovers or sticking with it when times get tough.

That has been one of the defining traits of the season to this point. And the team just has not been able to be consistent enough to stay competitive on the scoreboard every night.

Against quality opponents like Brooklyn, that inconsistency can clearly get ugly.