NBA Standings ordered by offensive rating: Magic’s struggles continue 

All the best teams in basketball are capable two-way teams. The Magic quickly had the defense down. Last season’s success was built primarily on how terrifying this team was defensively. Offensively, the Magic had much more work to do, so that was the focus for the 2024-25 season. 

The Magic needed more offensive production and better spacing. A combination of adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the roster and internal improvements from several players was supposed to be the cure. 

At first, it looked like it worked. Throughout the first five games of the season, the Magic were 16th in offensive rating—a respectable place across the league, especially considering last season’s struggles. Paolo Banchero was the engine of the Magic’s offense, averaging 29 points over five games. Then, he suffered an injury against the Chicago Bulls, and things quickly unraveled. 

Without Banchero, the Magic looked lost. Losing a superstar is a big adjustment for any team, but even more so for a young team that features only one All-Star. Plus, the Magic had a tough schedule to deal with when Banchero first went down, losing games to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana Pacers. 

With those losses, the Magic dropped to tenth in the Eastern Conference standings, and their offensive rating took a hit. 

Eastern Conference standings ordered by offensive rating

Western Conference standings ordered by offensive rating 

Surprise teams 

In the Eastern Conference, the biggest surprise team is seeing the Brooklyn Nets rank fourth in offense rating—a number that matches their position in the regular Eastern Conference standings. Before the start of the season, the general consensus was that the Nets would be tanking to get a high draft pick and boost their rebuild. So far, they look much better than that, but they still have plenty of time to drop in the standings if they want to. 

On the other end of the spectrum are the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have played six and seven games respectively, but the Bucks are still struggling. They were projected to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference, somewhere behind the Celtics. The same goes for the Philadelphia 76ers, but they started the season without Joel Embiid and Paul George, so their offensive struggles are not much of a surprise. 

In the Western Conference, the two biggest surprise teams are the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both seem like they should have a higher offensive rating considering that the Mavericks have Luke Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and the Thunder have only lost one game so far. 

What does this mean for the Magic? 

The solution for the Magic to improve offensively sounds easy: players must step up in Banchero’s absence. Orlando already looked much better in its most recent game against the Indiana Pacers, but there are still some concerns to work out. 

One is the bench production. Orlando’s bench is supposed to be one of its strengths. So far, it has not delivered offensively. Another is three-point shooting. The Magic currently rank tenth across the league in 3-point attempts per game but last in 3-point percentage. 

On the bright side, the season is still young, and the Magic still have plenty of time to figure things out and get back on track offensively. They just need to figure out a way to stay afloat until Banchero returns.