Any preview of the Orlando Magic entering the season would inevitably point to their greatest weakness.
The Magic's season came crashing down because the team missed 22 straight shots in Game 6 and had a 2-for-18 showing from three in the second half.
Orlando's problem has always been its shooting.
The team has not finished in the top half of the league in 3-point field goal percentage since peaking at 11th in the 2019 season. And that was an aberration. Aside from two years at 16th, the Magic had not been in the top 10 in 3-point field goal percentage since Dwight Howard's last year in 2012.
Orlando is still chasing the kind of offensive consistency that has eluded the franchise since its last glory days.
Sean Sweeney has already changed the Magic's offense in some critical ways. Throughout the preseason, it was clear the team was committed to playing faster and committed to spacing the floor.
The Magic are not a reliable three-point shooting team yet. The patterns may change again as the team evolves. But the team is leaning into its biggest weakness. Orlando is letting it go from three, believing the team can generate the looks it needs to take advantage of this weapon.
Entering Wednesday's game against the Toronto Raptors -- with a whopping sample size of three games -- the Orlando Magic are eighth in the league in 3-point attempts per game with 40.3 per game. The Magic are still near the bottom of the league in percentage at 32.2 percent (20th in the league). But because their volume is up, they are 15th in makes per game at 13.0 per game.
Last year, the Magic were 22nd in attempts per game at 34.1 per game, 27th in percentage at 34.3 percent and 24th in makes per game at 11.7.
There is a long way to go this season. Who knows how any of this will continue?
But the Magic were eager to fire from three throughout the preseason. Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva have become high-volume 3-point shooters -- 9.3 and 8.7 attempts per game.
The team is leaning into the ability to shoot from three. Or, at least, the ability to get them up. The question is whether that will maximize this team's offense.
Shot quality and quantity
It is only three games, though. The Orlando Magic's 3-point shooting is merely an intriguing trend that has carried over from the preseason. The team is taking more threes but not making them any better. There are still outliers affecting the numbers.
Undoubtedly, shooting will still define this team's potential. The league is all about spacing. And the Magic are a team that is challenged by their poor shooting. That has held the team back.
Perhaps teams are still happy to leave the Magic open. But there is no denying the Magic are generating some better looks under Sean Sweeney.
This is not just about quantity, it is about quality too.
Through the first three games this season, the Magic are shooting 20.3 wide-open threes per game, according to NBA.com's tracking stats. That ranks seventh in the league. They are making 36.1 percent of those shots, which ranks 16th in the league.
The numbers are still all over the place. Some teams have come out hot. Everything is still settling down.
But last year, the Magic took only 18.4 of these wide-open threes per game (ranking 11th in the league) and made 36.8 percent.
Thre is something to the notion that teams are happy to leave these shots open. Perhaps what has changed this year is the Magic's willingness to take threes when they get them. Orlando certainly hopes that the results will follow.
That is the real difference.
The Magic are now sixth in the league with 16.7 "open" 3-point attempts per game (closest defender 4-6 feet away). They are shooting 32.0 percent on these shots, ranking 17th in the league.
Last year, Orlando took only 12.9 of these shots, ranking 24th, and made 32.3 percent of these shots, 28th in the league.
There is clearly a lot of work to do even with a few promising signs.
When it doesn't work
In the early part of the season, the Orlando Magic's offense has been dependent on the team's three-point shooting.
The Magic might be ranking well in comparison to the rest of the league, showing they are taking more threes than their competitors. But the numbers are not too different from previous seasons. The Magic are simply taking more threes.
The Orlando Magic went 13 for 40 from three in the opening-night loss to the Atlanta Hawks. That included a frustrating 1-for-12 showing from deep in the fourth quarter. Orlando made only 5-of-17 of those high-value wide-open 3-point shots.
The loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was even more frustrating from deep. The Magic went 8-for-39 from three that game, including 2-for-14 in the third quarter as the Wolves pulled away. Orlando was 7-for-24 on wide-open threes in that game and 1-for-5 in the third quarter.
There is clear room for improvement.
"Get to our spots quicker so we can continue to drive, create lanes for each other, continue to make the right kick-outs and we'll get the shots like we did tonight," Jalen Suggs said after Friday's loss. "Shoot them with confidence and trust in the fact that they are going to go in. That's the game. Tonight we shot 20. Throughout the whole preseason, all through camp and even the first game, we shot it really well. That's just playing basketball."
Sean Sweeney said before Sunday's win that he generally liked the looks in that game. He lamented that they did not get to the paint enough -- a challenge, especially with Paolo Banchero out.
That paid off against the New York Knicks. Orlando made 18 of 42 from deep and made 10 of 20 on wide-open threes.
Everything looks good when the shots fall. The Magic must continue togenerate these open looks and trust they will make enough of them.
It should be clear the Magic are not going to sustain themselves if the 3-pointer is their main weapon. Increasing their attempts will help. But they still need to make the shots. And defenses believe the Magic will not.
Orlando is still developing its patterns and the way it needs to play to win.
The Magic are not hiding from their 3-point weakness. It will be a tool they lean on. The hope is that they will improve enough with more open looks and more focus on generating the shot.
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