Nobody wants to feel down about a team that is 2-0 to start the season.
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Orlando Magic so far. The team really is playing a higher level of defense and there is a ton of confidence and belief in what they are doing.
That is always the first step to a team finding success. Belief. And this team has it all over the place.
On top of this, the Magic have a chip on their shoulder. They believe they would have reached the postseason if not for their injury-filled 5-20 start to the season. The team seems keenly aware of what the outside world is saying about them or how little they were in the spotlight last season and they want to prove their place in the league.
That is a powerful motivator for a young team. And all of us who watched this team grow last year and saw its potential so clearly want to see the team make good on this potential and keep moving in the right direction.
The Orlando Magic are heading in the right direction and clearly on a good trajectory. Even after this 2-0 start, there are some reasons to be concerned and work through this season.
Of course, those detractors are not completely off base. Even if they do not see the best version of this team, most of the realistic expectations acknowledge the talent and opportunity on this roster even if they do not think they are quite ready to reach it.
There are legitimate reasons to be still a bit skeptical of this team, even if those criticisms often ignore where the team actually is at.
The Magic’s first two games even showed the amount of promise this team has and where there are still some clear weaknesses. The Orlando Magic were expected to win its first two games against an up-and-coming Houston Rockets team and the now-rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers.
They took care of that business. But this team still showed some of its flaws.
Recognizing and understanding these flaws is part of what this season is about for this team. And already there are some reasons for concern with this Magic team.
This is not meant to bring everyone down after a 2-0 start — the Magic’s pair of games in Los Angeles stand as a big test to figure out just how good this team is. It is meant to highlight what could derail this team and the work that is clearly still left for this team.
3 reasons to be concerned about the 2024 Orlando Magic
Offensive Question Marks
The Orlando Magic have shown a lot of offensive promise. And for now, at least, the team is focused on playing more “by committee” and looking for balanced scoring.
Franz Wagner has been really spurty as a scorer and Paolo Banchero seems to be easing himself into the season rather than taking over. There seems to be more offense to unlock with this team and it has at times looked like a struggle.
So far, it has not mattered too much. The team is winning and being effective enough. The Magic’s defense has been a bigger focus and the thing the Magic believe can carry them to their goals.
Still, the Magic’s expected offensive troubles are still hovering in the background. While Orlando has openly set out to be a top-10 defense this season, the team’s offensive goals are much more modest. The Magic have not had an offense outside the bottom 10 in the league since 2012 (Dwight Howard’s final year).
That is a lot of offensive baggage to overcome. And it is not like the Magic did much to improve on that front — especially their outside shooting.
If there is one lingering concern among the national media in trying to analyze this team, it is the uncertainty on offense. Orlando simply has not proven itself as a capable offensive team. The situation may not be as dire as John Hollinger of The Athletic consistently put it in his season previews, but the offense is still a concern.
That was on display in the Orlando Magic’s 102-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday when the Magic managed only 39 points in the second half against a really poor defensive team seemingly uninterested in defending the paint — credit to the Magic’s defense for giving up only 42 in that time too.
Still, that game highlighted some of the problems that will persist about this team and that the team is still struggling to overcome.
Orlando so far this season is shooting just 18 for 62 (29.0 percent) from three this season. The Magic are certainly encouraged by the team increasing its 3-point volume. But the percentages are certainly not there. And that has only confirmed some of the Magic’s shooting struggles that persist.
It is still early. But a poor percentage was still expected and the Magic might still sit in the bottom 10 in percentage even if they warm up a bit.
Orlando is also still turning the ball over a lot. That was the chief concern for the team coming out of training camp.
The Magic are averaging 15.0 turnovers per game and 15.6 percent turnover rate. That has the team in the middle of the pack so far, but considering the Magic are still a slower-paced team, each turnover feels big for this Magic team.
For now, Orlando is doing fine offensively. The team is ninth in the league with 113.5 points per 100 possessions. But the Magic have one good offensive game and one bad offensive game pulling that number in two directions.
In either case, the offense is certainly still a major concern.
3 reasons to be concerned about the 2024 Orlando Magic
Non-Linear growth
It is almost always a good bet that young players will get better. That is essentially the heart of the Orlando Magic’s project. They brought in a lot of young players and they are consistently turning them over and letting them develop.
That is the right decision, do not get it wrong.
Orlando should be betting on its young players. But growth is often not linear.
Players take steps back as defenses adjust to them and they add to their game. There is still a lot to figure out and a lot of areas for the Magic’s young players to explore in their games. Orlando has done a good job defining roles and players have accepted them, but these guys still want to draw some outside the lines.
The Magic are fairly certain they have some big-time pieces in place with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. But even they have experienced this kind of start and stop to growth.
Wagner improved statistically in several facets last year and improved his efficiency. Yet, the expectations for him were to hit stardom. And Wagner still seemed comfortable receding into the background and waiting for the offense to come to him rather than imposing himself in the game.
Those disappointed in that aspect of his game were surely happy to see him get all the late-game possessions in the win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday even though he struggled to execute in pick and rolls as the game wore on — he still had eight points on 2-for-9 shooting in that fourth quarter.
But that is an important thing to remember when it comes to Paolo Banchero.
Everyone seems to expect Banchero to have his scoring jump from last year’s 20.0 points per game. And he should increase his scoring just on better efficiency.
Instead, what we have seen so far is Banchero working on improving his efficiency and his playmaking. He is averaging 13.0 points per game (26 total points) and shooting 8 for 18 to start the season.
That is definitely a noticeable downgrade in his offensive production. His touches are way down from last year too through the first two games — down from 64.8 touches per game last year to 50.5 per game this year according to data from Second Spectrum.
But he leads the team with nine total assists. And if that playmaking kick continues, that should help open up his offensive game later in the season as teams adjust defensively.
It is just an important reminder that young players do tend to grow. And the Magic should be better because of this growth.
But players will often grow in unexpected ways. And the team will have to adjust to the unexpected ways they grow.
And with so many young players all competing for time on the court, some players are inevitably going to impede and get in each other’s way. The Magic’s two rookies in Anthony Black and Jett Howard are not even in the team’s playing rotation to start the season.
3 reasons to be concerned about the 2024 Orlando Magic
Rebounding and Size
It is a bit weird to be concerned about the Orlando Magic’s apparent lack of size. This team does everything it can to draft length and be a big team. But this is still a team that is very concerned about its interior size and its ability to rebound.
That goes double considering the central tenet of the Magic’s defense is about defending the interior.
Orlando’s defense has been very good and very disruptive throughout the preseason and early in the season. It is the hallmark of the team — although the team has faced two less-than-stellar offenses to start the year.
Already though, the Magic are feeling the pressure of their rebounding.
Orlando has a 71.7 percent defensive rebound rate this season. That still puts the team in the middle of the pack to start the year. But it feels like every offensive rebound is a killer and it exposes some weakness in this otherwise stellar defense.
Through two games at least, this is the area teams feel like they can attack and find scoring opportunities against this team.
The Magic are giving up just 35.0 points in the paint per game so far this season, second in the league. That is the heart of this team and winning the battle in the paint is essential to the team’s success.
But Orlando is also giving up 16.0 second-chance points per game. The team’s poor rebounding to start the season is the big weakness early on. And there is at least a suggestion this is a flaw in the roster.
Last year, the Magic were eighth in the league with a 73.0 percent defensive rebound rate. But they gave up 13.5 second-chance points per game off their rebound misses. That was just 15th in the league.
Orlando is a team that has to be solid on the glass because when the team does give up offensive rebounds, teams tend to score. It certainly unbalances the floor and leaves the team exposed to giving up three-pointers. That also remains a big weakness for the Magic defensively.
The biggest point with this Magic team is that there is a lot of potential from all sides. The team can be a very good team. But a lot of this group is unproven and right now a slip in one area could be enough to make the whole thing tip over.
While the Magic are very capable of overcoming all of these concerns. There is still a lot to prove for the team to get where it ultimately wants to be.
The Magic are going to have to keep refining and developing their identity. Even with a 2-0 start, Orlando has a lot to improve on.