Every training camp, the Orlando Magic seemingly make the same promise: They promise they will play a lot faster.
Coach Jamahl Mosley, after all, came to Orlando promising to play with pace, space and the pass. That was meant to symbolize a free-flowing offense where players are empowered to make decisions and read the defense.
The Magic's offensive struggles remain the story for the team, even as they have become a surefire playoff team each season. Orlando has been trying to find a way to unlock their offense.
Orlando knows it must change a lot on offense. The team hopes that Desmond Bane, with his added shooting and playmaking potential, will create some more space. It hopes a healthy Jalen Suggs will help push the pace and bring energy to the offense.
But they know they still must do more to unlock their offense.
The early conclusion is to run more and play faster.
"We talked a lot this summer on our ability to convert," Mosley said this week. "You have the No. 2 defense in the NBA, you hang your hat on the defensive end, and our ability to get out in transition was high. Our ability to convert is where we have to improve. Being able to hang our hat on the defensive end still, but get out and push the pace faster in transition after you get those stops, get those steals and get those turnovers. You have to make sure you finish on the other end."
Better shooting and being able to threaten and stretch transition defenses to the 3-point line rather than letting them sink into the paint will help. But Orlando undoubtedly leaves a lot of points on the board with poor and limited transition play
With their pressure defense, the Magic know they have left points on the board. And they want to go about changing that.
Transition Troubles
All the stats would suggest the Orlando Magic should be a team that runs a lot.
Of course, the team is one of the best defensive teams in the league. On top of that, they were second in the league in opponent turnover rate at 16.8 percent. That should mean the team has plenty of opportunities to run.
With the Magic being a relatively young team, everyone is eager to see the team use those young legs to run.
But Orlando struggled in transition last year and generally in the last few seasons.
The Magic were 25th in the league with 13.8 fast break points per game. They had the fifth-fewest possessions in transition with 17.9 per game and scored only 1.11 points per possession in transition, according to data from Synergy.
In 2024, the Magic were 27th with 12.4 per game fast break points per game and 26th with 17.1 transition possessions per game with only 1.10 points per possession.
Orlando not only did not get many transition opportunities, the team struggled to score on the ones the team got. It is an area where the Magic must improve. Those are a lot of points left on the board.
"Having the defense that we had the past year, being no. 2 in the league, but also being able to convert on the other end," Mosley said last week. "A lot of it we talked about was shooting and spacing the floor. We did have a lot of open looks. The other side of it is once you get the stop, you have to convert on the other end. You make two or three more layups in transition, your offense changes. It changes the way teams can defend you. They know once you get that stop, you are out and running."
These are small possessions and small things that add up for a Magic team that has so often struggled to score. Orlando knows it needs to find every advantage it can to change the offense.
Shooting will help
Undoubtedly, improved shooting helps loosen everything up for the Orlando Magic.
Part of their problem in transition was almost certainly teams knowing they needed to sink into the paint and defend the rim more than they needed to worry about the 3-point line. Having a shooter like Desmond Bane who can pull up from three in transition especially gives the team's attack a new dynamic.
Shooting has been such a key missing ingredient that nobody really understands how improved shooting might positively shift every aspect of the Magic's offense.
There is certainly another level to this offense to unlock.
"At the end of the day, we have to play well as a team," Franz Wagner said last week. "That's on me and Paolo as much as anybody to make sure everybody is in a good spot and flow as a group. I think we should run as much as we can. The goal of our offense should not be just to maximize me and Paolo but to maximize everyone's ability. That's how we have to play."
Leveraging that playmaking and creation is one of the big things the Magic must do this year.
During EuroBasket, Wagner's transition play was one of the most feared elements in the entire tournament. He was nearly unstoppable when he could attack downhill in transition.
Even Paolo Banchero, despite the perception that he prefers a slower-paced player, is fairly efficient in transition. There is no reason to think the Magic would not benefit from getting either player in transition more.
They can both be battering rams going downhill, and that would only open things up more if they can dish out to shooters on the perimeter.
"I think it just comes down to being efficient as a team and as an offense," Banchero said this week. "Trying to score without using so much energy or having to work as hard to score. Whether that's sets or a style of play that allows us to create easier baskets. We don't want to sacrifice our defense."
Orlando should have plenty of players who should create advantages by getting out in transition more. But the question is whether they can commit to this style and create the kind of movement and pace that it requires. Or will they fall back into old habits?
That is one of the more intriguing storylines as training camp continues. The Magic have a lot to work with and build on.
This seems to be the earliest indicator of where the Magic's offense will change and how they will find a way to be better and more efficient on offense after nearly a decade being among the worst in the league.