The Orlando Magic's final (real) chance to win the game in Chicago came after one of the most important defensive plays of the game. Jalen Suggs knocked the ball off Patrick Williams on an inbounds giving the Magic an extra possession and a chance to tie or win the game down two.
Orlando was going to draw a play for Paolo Banchero. But considering the Magic's offensive difficulties throughout the quarter, nothing seemed certain even with the ball in Banchero's hands. The game was a complete slow with only 27 total points scored at that point by both teams.
None of that mattered if the Magic could find a way to get one more bucket. All Orlando needed was points 13 and 14 to send the game to overtime and get another chance to win. That would have been all that mattered.
But as the Bulls had done throughout the second half, they put multiple bodies between Paolo Banchero and the basket. As the Magic had done all game, they struggled to get him the ball in motion with steam behind him to catch the Bulls rotating. He had to go right into the wall and make a play.
So Banchero got rid of the ball. There was no way through and he had to trust his teammates to deliver.
The ball this time went to Jalen Suggs and he drove toward the middle. His defender cut him off and Suggs was stuck.
He still spun around and got a decent shot off that fell off the rim. The Bulls hung on for a 102-99 victory at the United Center on Wednesday, even with Paolo Banchero making an improbable banked-in three after the buzzer on a desperation tip-in attempt (there were 0.1 seconds left and so Banchero could not do anything but tip it in which he did not do).
Clearly things are still a work in progress. But what stung most was the whiplash of the game, going from up 20 in the first half and seemingly unstoppable to struggling to score at all in the final frame.
Coach Jamahl Mosley rightly pointed to the team's inconsistent defense that gave up 34 points in back-to-back quarters and let go of the rope. But everything is connected too. And the offensive floor dropped out in a disastrous 12-point fourth quarter that was a big factor in the Magic missing a chance to start this five-game road trip with a win.
This was a missed opportunity and a moment to review where this team is at five games in.
"I think we were a bit gassed," Jonathan Isaac said after Wednesday's game. "We got out early and everybody was running. I felt like we started to taper off after halftime. It was a rough game overall. I know we're better than that on both sides of the ball. I know that we'll respond."
The Magic's offense has taken some major steps forward. But one thing has been left behind. And that could be the thing that is most important and defines this team.
Orlando last year rarely took threes and now takes more than 40 threes per game. The Magic are making them with some efficiency.
So how did the Magic crumble against the Bulls?
They settled for their new toy in their 3-point shooting and they lost their paint scoring and ability to get to the line. That was most evident in that disastrous fourth quarter.
A fourth quarter to forget
The final tally in the fourth quarter was frustrating enough to read for the Orlando Magic: 12 total points, 4-for-22 shooting, 0-for-12 shooting from three, 3-for-8 shooting in the paint, only four free throw attempts.
It was the kind of offensive futility that was reminiscent of that infamous second quarter against the New York Knicks late in the 2015 season. And the kind of offensive futility a playoff team like this Magic team should be well beyond.
Orlando was missing shots and struggling to get the ball moving. The team was not even getting good looks and missing the few good looks they got. It was just a slog and frustration mounted with every miss.
Orlando went just 3 for 8 in the paint during the fourth quarter and took only four free throws (the team made them all, at least). That is a team that is not getting downhill and not getting aggressive. That is not what makes the Magic's offense potentially dangerous.
Even Paolo Banchero struggled to find space to get to the basket.
He shot 2 for 7 in the quarter and 0 for 4 from three. He took more shots from the perimeter, including settling for back-to-back threes after the Magic dug out an offensive rebound on a critical possession than he did getting to the basket. Wendell Carter had all four free throws for the Magic in the quarter.
Banchero was masterful again, it should be said. He scored 31 points on 12-for-22 shooting. But he was 2 for 9 from three. Again, the majority of his misses were threes. Any time he could get downhill he was scoring.
"I think we settled too much, myself included in the second half, settling for too many jumpers as a team, not attacking the paint," Banchero said after Wednesday's game. "To their credit, they did a good job walling off and plugging the gaps in the second half. I think also not having Franz out there obviously."
Some of this was Banchero was dealing with a lot of pressure and attention. The Bulls were swarming him on every drive. He made the right pass to the perimeter on a lot of occasions to see teammates miss shots.
But it did get to a point where Banchero was looking to pass rather than score. And then he started settling for mid-range jumpers. Banchero said he understands he sets the tone for this team and his consistency is something he is still working to improve.
With Franz Wagner still dealing with an illness and limited to 22:35 in this game, the Magic were struggling to create tension in the defense and put pressure on the rim. They had nowhere to go.
The offense has changed and needs balance
For whatever anyone wanted to say about the Orlando Magic's offense last year, it had a clear guiding philosophy. The Magic used their jumbo-sized, play-making forwards to put pressure on the rim and score in the paint or get to the foul line.
Last year, Orlando was eighth in the league with 51.8 points in the paint per game and led the league in free throw rate at 28.7 percent (nearly three free throw attempts for every 10 field goal attempts).
The trade-off was Paolo Banchero's inefficiency, which has improved greatly already this year, and the lack of 3-point attempts. Clearly, there was a directive this season to increase the team's 3-point output.
Including Wednesday's game, the Magic are taking 42.8 3-point attempts per game, the sixth-most in the league. They are making 34.6 percent of those shots, ranking 19th in the league. That is down obviously after an 11-for-46 showing on Wednesday, but still better than last year.
Overall, Orlando is ranked 15th in the league with a 111.8 offensive rating (the team posted a 97.1 offensive rating in Wednesday's game, we are still dealing with small sample sizes).
It is clear what this can look like when it works. The Magic built a 20-point lead in the first half behind their hot shooting and a swarming defense that was generating transition opportunities.
The issue comes when things get stuck like they did in the second half, and especially in that disastrous fourth quarter.
The trade-off now has come on the interior.
Orlando is still getting to the foul line—28.2 attempts per game (sixth in the league) and a 33.0 percent free throw rate (fifth in the league). But the team is scoring less in the paint.
Orlando is averaging only 40.0 points in the paint per game, 27th in the league. The Magic are taking 27.0 field goal attempts per game in the restricted area this season. They took 29.1 per game last year (the second-most in the league).
Against the Bulls on Wednesday, the Magic scored only 38 points in the paint on 19-for-32 shooting. They struggled to make shots and struggled to get opportunities in the paint in general. And it has not just been something that developed Wednesday.
A bad quarter though highlights this disparity. Orlando has a shiny new toy in its newfound 3-point shooting volume and percentages and it has used it to great effect.
But this offense should still be based on one thing: Its ability to put pressure on the rim. And that is where the Magic are struggling. It might explain why the team has had some bad quarters and has at times left its defense exposed.
Jonathan Isaac said the team is still trying to find its identity and maybe get its conditioning back in line (the illness that kept Franz Wagner on the bench might be going around the team). Banchero too said the team is struggling with its conditioning late in games for that reason, although it is not an excuse.
Either way, this was not a game where the Magic played to their standard on either side of the ball.
That element was missing throughout the second half of the game against the Bulls. Orlando was settling for jumpers and that is still one of the team's apparent weaknesses.