5 measures for success for the Orlando Magic in 2024 (besides winning)
5 measures of success for the 2024 Orlando Magic (besides winning)
Out of the bottom 10 in turnover rate
It is impossible though not to tie the offense and defense completely together. If the Orlando Magic are a good defensive team, they should get more turnovers and more transition opportunities to create some easy offense. That is as key as anything for the team this season.
But the overarching goal for the Magic this year is to play “better basketball” or play “cleaner basketball.”
However you want to define that, it really comes down to the team making fewer mistakes and valuing possessions more. It means committing fewer turnovers.
This is a rallying cry throughout training camp. Players have said they want to be a team that does not beat themselves.
Again, this is all about reducing turnovers and some of those silly mistakes. That is part of maturing and growing up too. Another of the Magic’s aims.
Orlando ranked 27th in the league last year with a 15.1 percent turnover rate. They turned the ball over a lot and it became especially painful because they were a low-possession team so each turnover felt even more painful because they were not a team getting a ton of possessions.
The good news is that this improved dramatically when Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony returned. From Dec. 7 to April 4, the Magic ranked 19th in turnover rate at 14.1 percent. So there was some improvement.
It is also good news Orlando’s defense held its own against turnovers. The Magic were 25th in the league overall giving up 18.2 points off turnovers per game. From Dec. 7 to April 4, the Magic were 20th at 17.1 points off turnovers per game.
Orlando gave up a lot of turnovers but did not always give up points off them. Either way, the Magic betting on being a top-10 defense is a bet on their half-court defense holding firm.
The best way to beat a defense is to beat it before it gets set up or find mismatches in transition. Turnovers inevitably put defenses in a bind. So the team has to reduce turnovers to accomplish a lot of their other goals.
This is at the center of the Magic’s progress this year. This is the mistake they have to reduce.