Orlando Magic are finding their offensive formula

The story from Friday’s win over the Toronto Raptors was the Orlando Magic’s stifling defense.

When Chuma Okeke was asked whether the team could beat anyone with the kind of defense they played, he said when the team locks in defensively they can beat anybody. Cole Anthony left that question with an emphatic, “Yes.”

No other words were needed.

Orlando’s defense has had some really strong moments throughout the season. As coach Jamahl Mosley put it — and as the coaching cliche goes — defense travels. Orlando wants to be a team based on its defense and that is where it will have its most success.

But winning with this team while the offense struggles is a sign of a bigger buy-in. It is even a sign of the team’s growing confidence and growth offensively, where the team has notably struggled for most of the season.

The Orlando Magic still rank near the bottom in almost every offensive category. But the team is starting to build offensive confidence and a distinct style allowing it to grow on that end.

The Magic beat the Raptors 103-97 on Friday. It was the Orlando Magic’s best defensive performance since the blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers (both games featured a 96.0 defensive rating).

It was also the lowest field goal percentage (37.9-percent) the Magic have shot in a win this season and their 101.0 offensive rating was the second-lowest in a win this season (the win over the Brooklyn Nets while the team was ravaged with health and safety protocols takes the lowest).

This was not the picture of perfection when it comes to the Magic’s offense. They missed a lot of open 3-pointers and had their struggles in the paint.

But this is about the process over results. And the results still came out to a win, showing positive signs of the Magic’s buy-in, togetherness and belief in what they are doing.

"“It’s real important,” Okeke said of putting so many players in double figures. “That’s probably the main reason that we won tonight, including our defense. When everybody touches the ball and everyone feels the ball during the game, they’re going to play hard for each other. It just goes down the line from teammate to teammate when everybody is touching the ball and everybody is moving it. We’re just out there having fun and playing for each other."

It still displayed how far the Magic’s offense has come despite the poor numbers.

The Magic put seven players in double figures. This during the same week the Orlando Magic got eight players in double figures in Monday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

Orlando totaled 24 assists on 36 field goals in Friday’s game. The team added 53 potential assists per game, according to NBA.com’s tracking stats. The Magic averages 46.6 per game for the season.

This was not just merely about good ball movement, it set up good shots too.

The team shot just 8 for 23 on shots where the closest defender was six or more feet away, according to NBA.com, with just 6 of 18 3-pointers going in. When the closest defender was 4-6 feet away, Orlando made just 7 of 27 shots, including 5 of 19 3-pointers.

In all then, Orlando made just 15 of 50 shots (out of 95 field goal attempts total) on “open” shots in Friday’s game.

For reference, the Magic average 45.0 field goal attempts per game with the closest defender at least four feet away out of 88.0 field goal attempts per game.

What this all says is the Magic were moving the ball to get open shots throughout Friday’s game. They displayed a level of offensive confidence in what they are doing that is starting to show some results.

"“I think it’s grown a lot,” Cole Anthony said after Friday’s win. “We have a lot of guys who are playing with a lot of confidence right now. The basketball has been popping around the floor.”"

Orlando’s offense undoubtedly remains the biggest weakness for the team.

The Magic rank 28th in the league in offensive rating, scoring 104.1 points per 100 possessions. The team has hit 110 points per 100 possessions just three times in the last 10 games. Even on “good” offensive nights, this is not a prolific offensive team.

Those shooting percentages even when open the team displayed Friday night are not totally abnormal. It is hard to win when the team is not hitting shots, even if the team generates those open looks.

Still, Orlando is starting to form an identity and make progress on the offensive end. The team is starting to feel more confidence.

Over the last 15 games, the Magic are second in the league in pace at 102.3 possessions per 48 minutes. While that has also come with a fair share of turnovers the team is learning to control (14.2-percent turnover rate is 20th in the league in that time and about where the team’s season average is), it has also led to some offensive improvement.

Orlando has a 107.1 offensive rating in that time. That is significantly better than the team’s season average although it does little to rise the team out of the bottom of the league.

The Magic are also eighth in the league over the last 15 games in fast-break points at 14.0 points per game (they are 20th for the season at 10.6 fastbreak points per game).

In Friday’s game, the Magic posted a woeful 101.0 offensive rating, but still played the game at their pace of 101.5 possessions per 48 minutes. And the team tallied 19 fast-break points.

The Magic may not have shot the ball well, but they dictated the tempo of the game. That is a big reason why the team was able to win. And this is happening more and more as the Magic are finding pockets of strong offensive play.

"“You see the selflessness of our ability to pass and share the basketball,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday’s game. “These guys understanding the right play is sometimes the simple play. The right play is the open man. These guys are really buying into each other and how we’re supposed to play. It’s great to see.”"

The focus for the Magic throughout the season has been this growth. It may not be so evident in the numbers, but it is easy to see signs of the progress the Magic have made, even with something that is still clearly a weakness for the team.

There is growing confidence in the team. Orlando’s offense is starting to make strides. At the very least, the Magic are capable of having games like this where they dictate the tempo of the game. Orlando’s offense is finding a groove to operate comfortably in.

It certainly was not lost on anyone how the Magic were able to close this one out either.

The Magic had a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of Friday’s game after losing a 15-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss. The Magic had to find a way to close the game.

The Raptors did everything they could, scoring 37 points in the final quarter and slapping on a press to try to speed the Magic up and force them into mistakes. But Orlando kept finding plays and kept their composure to win. The offense came alive in the fourth too, scoring 31 points to keep the Raptors at bay.

Toronto cut the final deficit to six but got no closer than seven with 2:47 to play. The Magic broke that run by breaking the press and finding Mo Bamba for an alley-oop dunk that all but sealed it.

"“That just shows we’re growing and we’re not backtracking,” Okeke said after Friday’s win. “We’re taking what the coaches are giving us. We’re taking our mistakes in the games. We’re not looking at past losses as losses but as lessons. That shows that as we continue to play games and learn, we’ll continue to get better.”"

That is still the goal to get better. And undoubtedly the Magic’s offense is starting to find its groove and find its way to play.

There are still elements that need to fall into place. And better personnel and more consistent shooting would help everyone. But for this team, there is undeniable growth and progress offensively.

The Magic are indeed starting to find their formula.