The Orlando Magic shared a photo from their practice Tuesday that highlighted the team's togetherness and what the team is missing on the floor right now.
With two days of practice and ample rest opportunities while the league concluded the NBA Cup, it gave the Magic not only a chance to have a heart-to-heart in the film room but also the chance to get up and down and play again.
So there was Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner caught on camera holding clipboards and doing some coaching for this team. Anything to keep them involved.
coach P5 🤝 coach boogie pic.twitter.com/MfmNGozBai
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 17, 2024
That the Magic have two potential All-Stars on the sidelines holding clipboards is part of their challenge. The team needed this practice time to get their feet back under them a week after the news broke thatWagner would be out indefinitely with a torn right oblique.
They needed time to figure out how to play again and find their new way to win.
"The biggest thing is finding a way to play," Jonathan Isaac said after practice Wednesday. "It's something that's really difficult when your team has an ingrained way of playing offense and defense and then guys go down. It's not just a flipped switch. We've got to watch film and figure out how can we be more intentional when we don't have those guys who have the ball in their hands a lot of time. It's not easy, it's not simple. It's just something we have to work out. We come with the right mindset. Now it's just about executing."
Like after Banchero's injury, the Magic are having to figure out how to run their offense without Wagner now too. That is not an easy thing.
How the Magic change their offense
And so the Orlando Magic are trying to pick up the pace and get into the offense faster.
The team is trying to be more effective in transition. They are trying to move the ball side to side more. The team is running more pick and roll to try to move the basketball and get the defense.
And of course, the team knows it needs to knock down more shots. There is no getting around that either.
Orlando is trying to find its way to win again. And how it can repeat that until these key players are healthy again.
The team has already done it a lot. Now they need to keep pushing it.
The expectation is the Magic will not miss too much of a beat.
"We put ourselves in the position where we are missing Franz and Paolo and sometimes JI and G. Harris and everyone expects us to win the game," Goga Bitadze said after practice Wednesday. "It's a good thing. We have to be really proud and realize we are really good. Without these guys, everyone expects us to win these games. We have to be really proud of ourselves."
These are areas the Magic have to improve.
Orlando is 27th in pace at 97.5 possessions per 48 minutes, which probably suits the team fine considering it leans on its half-court defense far more than its offensive execution. Keeping scores low is probably a good thing.
But the Magic have often struggled to create transition opportunities. An oddity for a young, athletic team.
Orlando is 20th with 14.1 fast break points per game despite being near the top of the league in forcing turnovers. The Magic are also 20th in the league with 19.2 transition possessions per game and 16th in the league scoring 1.10 points per possession in fast breaks.
Orlando is also 14th in the league with 18.2 possessions per game with the ball-handler making a play in the pick and roll. The team scores 0.82 points per possession on those plays (23rd in the league). The Magic are 15th in the league wit 6.7 pick and roll possessions ending with the roll man per game, scoring 1.12 points per possession (11th in the league).
These are areas the Magic should improve on. And without Wagner in the lineup, it is one of the ways the Magic must manufacture points.
Magic are still piecing things together
The Orlando Magic have been able to piece some things together.
They beat the Phoenix Suns in their first game without Wagner. They went toe to toe with the Milwaukee Bucks. Only Sunday's loss against the New York Knicks felt like they came back down to earth. And even then they were in the fight for most of the game.
The Magic know that even without these key players, they are still in the playoff race and capable of competing and winning even if the margin for error is smaller without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
The team at least has the confidence and belief they can still stack up wins.
"I think you don't lose sight of what we're trying to do," Jonathan Isaac said after practice Wednesday. "You don't lose belief. It was a transition period when Paolo dropped, and we still had Franz. Now not to have Franz either, it's going to be another transition period. We were able to take care of home against Phoenix and then we dropped one. Just trying to figure it out and keep moving forward."
The Magic are in that transition period right now. They are still discovering the formula for their success. The belief they will find it has not waned, just like it did not shrink when Banchero went out.
That is what is valuable about having practice time and a homestand at this point.
The Magic lost four straight after Banchero's injury and then came home to win five straight and establish their place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Orlando is hoping a long homestand—the team is home for the rest of the month, or six more games—will enable the team to settle in and find its way to play yet again. Not that the competition will make it easy—only the 2024 finale against the Brooklyn Nets comes against a team with a losing record.
Goga Bitadze said being home and having a light schedule for the NBA Cup has given the team some time to regroup and settle in. The Magic hope that will again lead to positive results. Orlando has not backed down or lost steam in the early playoff race. Even if there are challenges still ahead.
"We're getting tested right now. It's the next-man mentality," Bitadze said after practice Wednesday. "It's getting tested. We have seen that we are able to do it against great teams. When we don't, it just tells us we weren't locked in. These couple of days, we regrouped. We have two All-Stars out of our rotation. We have to figure out the way. We know we have to play defense, everybody plays defense. We have to get flow in the offense and that's what we have been working on."
The Magic know they must find their way to play again. At least until Banchero's imminent return. And that is what they are working toward to keep the ship steady and not lose ground on their season-long goals.
What is different it seems is the Magic are not letting the injuries derail them. They are still pushing to be the same Magic team.