3 Orlando Magic shooting stats that tell a bigger story
By Jacob Warfle
Orlando Magic shooting stats
No player over 5.0 3PA per game
The Orlando Magic placed a focus on taking more three-pointers this season. They certainly do not want to be afraid to shoot it.
So far it is a mixed bag.
The simple fact remains, in order to make threes, you need to take threes.
Last season, the Magic improved drastically in three-pointers attempted, ranking 11th in the NBA with 36.9 per game. This was a big improvement on the previous season’s number, attempting almost five more threes per game. Even if the team was not making them at a high rate. The ideas were all there to make 3-point shooting part of the offense.
In the small sample size from this season, the team has slid all the way back down to 27th in the league with 30.3 3-point attempts per game.
The biggest contributor to this is that no individual player on the Magic is attempting more than 5.0 three-pointers per game.
Both Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs are averaging 5.0 3-point attempts per game exactly. Looking around the league, there are actually 77 NBA players attempting more three-pointers per game than the leading player on the Magic.
Orlando has become far more focused on attacking the paint and the rim. The team has not been able to use that to create more 3-point attempts. But this is an area where the Magic should be focused on seeking out more attempts from deep.
The Magic do not have a high-volume knockdown shooter. Most of the top teams in the league have a player on their roster who takes at least 8.0 three-pointers per game and makes better than 40 percent of them.
Is there someone on the Magic who is capable of putting up these types of attempts and knocking them down at a high rate? I would say not right now.
That is simply not Paolo Banchero’s game. The team’s top scorer is not a 3-point shooter. And Franz Wagner has struggled from deep this year, making only 24.5 percent on 3.8 attempts per game. The Magic’s two main drivers and offensive engines are not 3-point shooters.
Terrence Ross shoots a high percentage but does not shoot a high volume — 41.1 percent on 4.3 3-point attempts per game. Cole Anthony could potentially attempt 8.0 per game, but he has not shown the ability to make better than 35 percent of them.
Gary Harris’ anticipated return will give a big boost to the team’s shooting. Harris averaged 38.4 percent shooting on 5.0 3-point attempts per game last year. That should give a momentary boost to the team’s outside opportunities.
Long-term though, the Magic will need their primary attackers not only to set up the outside shot but take some themselves.
The best versions of either Wagner or Banchero would include increased three-point usage. But we have also yet to see them shoot it at an elite percentage.