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5 Orlando Magic storylines to watch in the 2023 NBA Finals

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Nov 8, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) controls the ball as Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) guards in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) controls the ball as Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) guards in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic
Duncan Robinson is a sharpshooter who is struggling to find his footing with the Miami Heat. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

5 Orlando Magic storylines to watch in the 2023 NBA Finals

3-Point Volume

The obsession for the Orlando Magic, as they plan the next steps in their development, has focused on shooting as an all-important skill. Orlando desperately needs to improve its shooting as both a low-percentage team (34.6 percent, 24th in the league) and a low-volume team (31.1 per game, 27th in the league).

That just is not a combination that is going to lead to a lot of wins in the modern NBA.

The NBA Finals, and Playoffs at large, point the league in the direction it is going. The 2009 Magic proved to the league 3-point shooting could win just as they proved the stretch-4 was here to stay — especially with how Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza played in that series.

What will we learn about the league and its direction this time around?

At its very heart, this will be a battle between two teams with different philosophies on how to use the 3-pointer.

The Miami Heat surround their roster with players who can shoot from the outside. In the regular season, they were 10th in the league with 34.4 3-point attempts per game but 27th in the league in percentage at 34.4 percent (worse than the Magic!).

Even though the Heat had an uncharacteristically poor 3-point shooting season, everyone recognized the shooting potential they had with Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin as potential 3-point specialists.

In the playoffs, of course, that has completely flipped. The Heat are 10th with 33.6 attempts per game but first in percentage at 39.0 percent.

The Heat are a team that believes in taking their share of 3-pointers. And they are going to take a lot of them.

The Nuggets are almost the exact opposite. Denver finished the regular season at 25th in the league in attempts at 31.2 attempts per game. But the Nuggets made 37.9 percent of their threes (fourth in the league).

The plain message is simple, you can be a low-volume 3-point shooting team but you better make the ones you take. And that is where the Magic certainly struggle right now. They have to find a way to make more of the threes they take.

Orlando is almost certainly going to run a similar motion-style offense in the end to what Miami and Denver run. We may see more of those types of team-based offenses proliferate around the league — especially with CBA concerns now likely limiting the formation of teams with mega contracts on them.

What should be important as the Magic seek to improve is that they just need to make more threes. Both the Nuggets and Heat prove how important that aspect of the game is.