Orlando Magic's flaws on display with stars struggling to hit their stride

The Orlando Magic's half-court offense leans heavily on its stars to create tension and free others up. When they both struggle, the Magic's clear flaws become more apparent and difficult to overcome.

Franz Wagner got himself going and found a way to keep the scoring going for the Orlando Magic with 37 points. The rest of the team never caught up.
Franz Wagner got himself going and found a way to keep the scoring going for the Orlando Magic with 37 points. The rest of the team never caught up. | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

The Orlando Magic know their formula to win.

They punish teams defensively with their host of arms and intensity. They make teams feel them physically and harass them into turnovers. They use those turnovers to create mismatches on the other end if not straight fast breaks.

In the half-court, the Magic know they will struggle. They know they do not have the shooters to properly space the floor or the personnel to punish teams properly for leaving them open.

What they do have is two All-Star forwards who can find mismatches and attack downhill.

What little offense the Magic have right now is centered on this. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are matchup nightmares, both hard drivers and playmakers at 6-foot-10 who attack in different ways but attack nonetheless. They are the ones who open everything up for everyone else.

What happens then when they struggle? What happens to this Magic team that struggles to shoot when it cannot rightly rely on its two stars to create space and lead the way? What happens when the team loses its energy and its defensive identity?

It is asking a lot to put on any player to rescue a team when they are in a deep hole and unable to shoot. But that is the responsibility stars sign up for. The game is on their shoulders whether it is the last shot of the game or finding a way out of a losing stretch. They have to give the team exactly what they need.

With so much uncertainty going on with the roster, the Magic need their stars to carry their weight.

The Orlando Magic lost to the Utah Jazz 113-99 on Saturday, only piecing together brief moments of the team they can be on either side. Wagner had a strong scoring push throughout the game to get to the foul line but Banchero's push never came. And the team sank again.

"I think we tried to do a lot of really good stuff," Wagner said after Saturday's loss. "Shots didn't fall. Defensively, we can play a lot better. I think we've got to keep trying and keep having good possessions. At some point, they are going to fall. I think the basketball gods will reward you at some point if you keep trying the right stuff."

The Orlando Magic are looking for answers right now. And the first place they need to turn is toward their stars. The team's flaws are on full display without them. And right now, the Magic are struggling to see their stars at full capacity.

Franz's big game

Franz Wagner turned things around and maintained a consistent pace throughout the game. He scored 37 points on 8-for-21 shooting. Although he struggled from deep (3 for 11), he found a way to force the defense to defend him by attacking the basket.

He went 18 for 20 from the line, becoming the sixth player in franchise history to take 20 free throw attempts in a game. Like all good stars, when the shot was not falling, Wagner still found a way to impose himself on the game.

He had 15 points in the fourth quarter. He and Cole Anthony carried the offense in a late attempt to cut into the deficit.

Anthony scored 11 of his 23 in the fourth quarter as the Magic scored 30 points in the quarter to show a little bit of offensive life.

But the margin for error was too small and Wagner, playing just his fifth game since returning from his torn right oblique, clearly started losing steam and getting tired trying to carry the team offensively. They could get only as close as 12 in the fourth quarter.

That is where Banchero's struggles kicked in.

Banchero's struggles

Paolo Banchero has not looked like himself since his first game back against the Milwaukee Bucks. He has struggled to find his jumper or to attack the rim consistently.

Saturday's game did not reach the depths of his 1-for-14 showing against the Portland Trail Blazers. But Banchero finished with nine points on 4-for-19 shooting. He was 1 for 12 at halftime for just three points. He could not follow Wagner's lead and took only three free throws in the game (making one).

Nothing Banchero could do seemed to get him a rhythm. With a player taking that many shots and struggling to score, it becomes a drain on an offense already primed to struggle.

"We talked about it before he came back, the rhythm, the timing, that is going to take time," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday's loss. "And not to allow it to derail what he is and who he is and how capable he is. There is a reason why he's an All-Star. There's a reason why he has done the things he has done in this league. And not forgetting that."

That is not to say everything is on Banchero and Wagner. Mosley said he surmises when the team watches tape they will see plenty of good looks that did not go down. Orlando scored 36 points in the paint on 18-for-38 shooting on the interior and failed to make a 2-point field goal in the first quarter despite six attempts.

Orlando's perimeter shooting was not much better. The Magic went 9 for 41 from three (22.0 percent), marking the ninth time in the last 13 games the team shot worse than 30 percent from three.

Banchero and Wagner took 40 field goal attempts, and the other starters combined for 15. There is either a lack of trust or just too many players playing right now for the Magic who are not looking for their shots.

Orlando needs its stars to play better. But those stars also need help. The Magic shot 33.0 percent for the game, their worst field goal percentage of the season.

Stars are the way out

The Orlando Magic are struggling in just about every area. They have spent the last month playing as the second-worst team in the league by net rating, ahead of only the woeful Washington Wizards.

Their only win in the last nine games came when Banchero carried the team through the first three quarters for 32 points and Wagner joined him with 25 of his 32 in the fourth quarter to defeat the Detroit Pistons.

Orlando's stars may need the help of added shooting and the team's defense may need the energy boost of Jalen Suggs' return to get exactly where they need to go. But everything starts with the star players from the team's energy to its efficiency. And both Wagner and Banchero have struggled to carry that load consistently since their return.

That has only emphasized the team's poor shooting and lack of creation beyond those two. Orlando could not ease them back into playing. They had to dive head-first into heavy usage. And that has led to predictable and frustrating ups and downs.

"You don't like the result that you don't come away with a win," Mosley said after Saturday's loss. "In this moment when you are not playing your best basketball and you are integrating guys back into the lineup, you've got to know you've got to take small wins in this moment to play your best basketball in March and April and we've got to start that moving forward now."

Ultimately, the Magic's fortunes ride on Banchero and Wagner finding themselves quickly and the Magic doing everything they can to help them along in that process. There is no way through without them playing at their best one way or the other.

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