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3 Orlando Magic preseason stats to get excited about, 3 to get worried about

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic should have a lot to get excited about after a solid preseason. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports
The Orlando Magic should have a lot to get excited about after a solid preseason. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jamahl Mosley, Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic
Oct 10, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley talks with guard Cole Anthony (50) during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports /

3 numbers to get excited about, 3 numbers to worry about from the Orlando Magic’s preseason

Be Worried: 15.5 percent turnover rate

Consistently the biggest concern for the Orlando Magic throughout the preseason was turnovers. It was something they were virtually obsessive over at every turn. They were always saying they needed to limit turnovers. It was always something they needed to control.

In some respects, the Magic do not need to worry about this. As they play more and refine their game, their turnovers should go down.

Orlando had a 15.5 percent turnover rate, which was 10th in the league for the preseason. The Magic had a 13.5 percent turnover rate in the first half of their preseason games (that was sixth in the league for the first half at least).

If Orlando had a 13.5 percent turnover rate in the regular season, it would have ranked 10th in the league. That would be significant progress for the Magic and a sign of how much better the team can play.

Turnovers were a major issue for the team last year. Orlando ranked 27th in the league with a 15.1 percent turnover rate.

When the Magic talk about playing “better basketball,” they are really talking about reducing these kinds of mistakes. They want to play cleaner, more mature basketball. That means reducing mistakes and not beating themselves in a lot of ways.

This is a number that feels like it is difficult to figure out how real it was. Even the players seemed to be wary to acknowledge the progress they made with turnovers. This is likely to be a battle for the team all season.

You do expect turnovers to go down once the regular season begins. And some of these ranks do seem to hold. Orlando had an 18.7 percent turnover rate in last year’s preseason, which ranked 25th in the league for the preseason.

There is at least that positive sign that Orlando is set to be better at protecting the ball. The fact they ranked higher in the preseason suggests they will end up in the top half of the league there.

Still, who knows what is permanent? And the Magic have not proven they can reign that stuff in yet. They are young and will still make plenty of mistakes. Just how many is the question?

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