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3 Orlando Magic stats to be encouraged by, concerned with through 11 games

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic are off to a solid start to their season. But there is clearly a lot of work to do. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
The Orlando Magic are off to a solid start to their season. But there is clearly a lot of work to do. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Moe Wagner, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks
With Wendell Carter out of the lineup, Moe Wagner has helped fill the void offensively and stepped up his game on both ends. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /

3 Orlando Magic stats to be encouraged, discouraged by through 11 games

Encouraged: Second-Chance Points

The Orlando Magic last year were constantly battling to play catchup. They were a team that took few 3-pointers and gave up a lot of 3-pointers. And so they always had to find ways to get extra shots.

They did this a lot last year by getting to the foul line. That was one of their equalizers to try to give themselves a chance in these games.

The free throw shooting has been there this season. But even as the Magic have done better preventing shots at the 3-point line this season, they have found another way to try to buoy their offense and equalize their lack of perimeter shooting.

Enter the offensive glass.

Orlando is sixth in the league in offensive rebound rate at 31.9 percent (grabbing nearly one out of every three offensive rebound opportunities). The team is scoring 18.2 second-chance points per game, the most in the league.

This is a big factor for the Magic in their wins. Their ability to get second-chance points is usually a sign of their overall activity.

It certainly is a big part in making up for any poor shooting if they can collect a good number of those misses anyway.

This uptick in offensive rebounds may be part of a larger trend around the league that has seen philosophies shift on offensive rebounds — it might just be a way to slow down some of the faster offenses by making them commit more to securing rebounds instead of getting out in transition.

But this feels like something that could be permanent for the Magic. they have lots of guards who are excellent rebounders — Cole Anthony, Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs combine to average 10.4 rebounds per game between them. Goga Bitadze and Moe Wagner have always been excellent at gathering offensive rebounds and putbacks.

The Magic are doing a good job in this regard, stealing points and extra possessions while keeping their energy up on the offensive glass.

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