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

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

Discouraged: Turnovers

The rallying cry for the Orlando Magic all summer was to play “better basketball.” That was this year’s “level up.”

As several key figures like president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager Anthony Parker explained it, this came down to playing “cleaner basketball” and making fewer mistakes. Nowhere would this be apparent than with the team’s turnovers.

Coach Jamahl Mosley has added that the goal for the team was to be a group that did not beat themselves. That would presumably reducing their unforced errors that put the team in a bind.

This has only become more important considering how the Magic play low-possession games and tend to like playing at a more controlled tempo. Each possession has added importance because of this.

But turnovers remain a big issue for the Magic. They continue to give away possessions and opportunities to get shots. And especially because they limit possessions they feel bigger.

Orlando has at least improved its turnover rate from last year. The team was at 18.1 percent last year and is down to 16.2 percent. But that is still 28th in the league. Orlando has seen a lot of good efforts derailed by turnovers — especially late in games where costly mistakes give away free points to opponents.

If there is good news it is that Orlando’s defense has typically covered for these mistakes. Despite the high turnover rate, the Magic give up only 17.8 points off turnovers per game, that is 17th in the league. But that is a number that has ben creeping up in the last few games.

Orlando has to do better at containing its own turnovers.

That is because the Magic lead the league in forcing turnovers. Opponents have a league-worst 17.8 percent turnover rate against the Magic. Orlando takes all those deflections and turn them into miscues. The team just needs to take advantage of those more with better transition offense and scoring on the break.