It was supposed to be a new leaf for the Orlando Magic.
Their offense was supposed to move and create open looks with a faster pace and more ball movement. It was meant to flow and play faster. It was meant to make easier three-point looks.
It was not meant to be more of the same. A team frustratingly missing threes and then giving into that frustration with porous defense.
The Minnesota Timberwolves might end up having the best offense in the league. They have weapons everywhere with two players in LaMelo Ball (14 points, nine assists) and Anthony Edwards (15 points, 5-for-23 shooting) who can twist a defense in isolation off the dribble. They are not afraid to hoist from three -- taking 50 in their opener and 37 on Friday in Orlando.
But the Magic were not supposed to be this disorganized and this disjointed.
They were at least supposed to make a few more open shots.
The difference in Friday's 115-93 Minnesota win at the Kia Center was about the missed shots. Then it became about the familiar frustration that comes from missed shots. The turnovers trying to make up for all the mistakes, the defensive intensity that dissipates as the lead grows and the fast breaks that come from long rebounds and missed shots.
The Wolves beat the Magic in almost every conceivable way, winning all the hustle points -- 21 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points, 16 turnovers forced for 16 points and a 98-84 field goal attempts advantage.
Orlando kept it close in the first half, but eventually Minnesota overwhelmed the Magic with its aggression. The Magic scored 15 points in the third quarter and were completely out of the game, frustrated and defeated.
The Magic have a lot to ponder, and a lot more they need to correct. When one problem got fixed, another popped up in a frustrating loss.
Keep shooting?
In some respects, the Orlando Magic are just leaning into the skid and saying that a team that has struggled to shoot for the majority of the last decade should just shoot more. The only way out is through, I guess?
Teams have long been OK with giving the Magic even open looks.
But this year was supposed to be different. Orlando was supposed to not only increase the volume but, with better spacing, make more.
It is hard to knock the process. Not when Desmond Bane is getting nine 3-point attempts. But when even he is struggling to find the bottom of the net, it is a drain.
Bane missed his first seven 3-pointers before finally hitting one. He ended the game 1 for 9 from three. The Magic started 4 for 18 from three in the first half and went 2 for 14 in the third quarter. It was hard to argue with some of these looks too. But they just would not go in.
The Magic finished 8 for 39 from beyond the arc (20.5 percent). It will be nearly impossible to win with shooting that poor.
Is this a case of process over results? Is this a case of fear of going up against Rudy Gobert in the paint?
The answer is probably a bit of everything. But it is impossible to win in the NBA if good 3-point looks are not falling.
Bane got through his early season slump last year. The Magic will have to trust that this is another one of those and he will get right sooner than later.
Putting it all together
In some respects, the Orlando Magic should get some grace because this is a team learning a new offensive and defensive system. Like most teams with new coaches, it is expected that there are a few hiccups at the start of the season. Everyone is finding their place.
But it is so clear that this team is thinking about how to do these things. As coach Sean Sweeney has said, it is not second nature yet. And that is everything. That moment of having to think through something is the difference between success and failure.
The team did not look to be on the same page, giving up loads of dribble penetration that led to those offensive rebounds. Even with good challenges, the Magic were not finishing those possessions.
Rudy Gobert spooked the Magic's drivers in the paint (54 points in the paint on 27-for-39 shooting). And the Wolves were able to pressure the ball into mistakes and second guessing. This is a team with pieces of something that can work, but not a complete picture.
The Magic have a lot to clean up to be the team they want to be. They just are not there yet going up against teams that are more dialed in and comfortable with their styles.
Everyone but Paolo
Entering this season, the pundits would say that there were parts of the Orlando Magic that made sense if only Paolo Banchero could be more efficient.
It was Banchero holding the ball and stopping things that put the Magic in a hole. The numbers all said that the Magic were better when Banchero was on the bench.
That is an oversimplification of things. But it made for a good story. Banchero was hte empty-stats scorer that the modern NBA Twitterati loved to hate.
That has not been the case to start the season.
Banchero has come out blazing, adding 14 points and 6-for-11 shooting in the game. He had five assists and six rebounds.
Banchero may have tried to go hero mode in the second half, but that was mostly because the team was not getting anything else going and found themselves down big. Eventually, he would leave the game with a sore right ankle in the third quarter.
Here is the killer stat that will surely confuse those who have already made up their mind. The Magic had a -11 plus/minus with Banchero on the floor. The Magic were -18 with Franz Wagner on the floor.
Wagner finished with 18 points. Bane had five points and could not hit a three.
Quite simply, your best players have to play well. And both have been a bit inconsistent to start the year. The Magic must get everyone on the same page to get off the schneid and pick up their first win on this tough upcoming road trip.
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