The biggest revelation about the Orlando Magic so far this season has been how different their offensive philosophy has become. They were trying to play faster and get out in transition more. Everything was moving faster.
In the first half against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, that pace and that intensity were on full display.
But there are still a lot of hiccups. This is still a team trying to figure itself out and come together. It is still a team trying to find is formula.
And sometimes those hiccups cost the team in the end, as they did in a 111-107 loss on Friday at Kia Center.
Trae Young helped lead a comeback in the fourth quarter as the Hawks outscored the Magic 33-21 in the final quarter. Young had 11 of his 25 points in the final quarter including a go-ahead floater with 46 seconds to play and the game-winning free throws with 21 seconds to play.
The Magic's offense went stone cold, in addition to giving away points through missed free throws and turnovers. The fast-paced offense that built as much as a 14-point lead and carried the Magic to 125 points in the opener, suddenly hit a road block, stuck in the mud and unable to get free.
Developing and evolving this team is not going to be a straight line. There are still some habits to kick.
"I feel like we beat ourselves," Franz Wagner said after Friday's game. "Not to take credit away from Atlanta, but I think a lot of the mistakes we made were self-inflicted. We've got to clean those up."
A big piece of this puzzle was indeed the points the Magic left on the board. They missed 13 of their 37 free throws, including half of their 20 attempts in the first half. That kept the door open for the Hawks to make their comeback.
It is also true a big piece is the Magic continuing to struggle with turnovers with another 21 turnovers for 20 Hawks points, including eight in the first quarter and nine in the second half.
Those contributed to the team being unable to pull away and put the game out of reach in the first half, leaving that door ajar.
But the biggest culprit was that the Magic are still finding their footing on offense. And frustration boiled over to cost them in the end.
A tale of two halves
The Orlando Magic's offense has been the story of the team's preseason.
Wednesday's season opener showed the potential for that offense. So too did the first half against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
The Magic had complete control over the game in the first half despite their turnover and free-throw troubles. They posted a 110.9 offensive rating and played at a pace of 109.0 possessions per 48 minutes. They scored 11 of their 15 fast-break points in the first half.
This is what the Magic are looking for. A free-flowing offense that uses the defense (a very elite 94.9 defensive rating in the first half) to create opportunities and looks to push the pace to get into the offense quicker.
This is what the Magic are going for with their offense. Orlando hit 7 of 16 from three in the first half, pummeling the Hawks from the outside as much as they were dominating in transition.
But that did not last. The second half saw the team get stagnant.
"We had control of the game for the majority, even with our mishaps," Wendell Carter said after Friday's game. "The fourth quarter is when games are won. Including myself, we all had lulls on defense. And offensively, we were a little disorganized. It's an easy fix, but it is something we have to pay attention to going into the next game."
Orlando posted only a 95.8 offensive rating in the second half and played at a pace of 95.0 possessions per 48 minutes. This is the team slowing to a crawl and unable to get going.
This is when the offense looked like it did last year, relying heavily on isolations and unable to create movement or rotations in the defense.
It did not help that the Magic went ice cold from three, making only 2 of 16 from deep in the second half. The Magic could not get themselves unstuck. And eventually, the defense gave way for the Hawks to make their comeback.
"I think we all just have to be on the same page," Carter said after Friday's game. "A lot of us didn't know what we were running. We weren't echoing calls. There was a moment in the third quarter where we weren't together on the offensive end. And we let it affect our defense. Those are the moments that we have to be able to control."
Carter believes this is an easy fix because of how much the team wants to win. It is about getting back on the same page.
If the Magic have learned one thing then through two regular season games, it is that they thrive playing faster -- even if they still turn it over excessively. They can punish teams in transition.
And when they stagnate and slow down, they are very vulnerable.
Finding the way
The Orlando Magic are still undoubtedly finding their way this season. It has been just six games, including preseason, and the Magic have shown their formula to win.
Undoubtedly, the Magic are still learning to play together. Players are still figuring out how they mesh and getting comfortable on the court. That is a process that will take longer than a few games.
On Friday, the team's frustration got the better of them and it cost them in the end.
"I think there were moments where we got together and tied it in," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday's game. "There were moments where we could be better. These are lessons that we have to continue to learn as we come down the stretch in these close games. There are going to be a lot of close games."
Clearly there is still work to do for this team to reach its potential.
But even in defeat on Friday, that potential is clear. It is just a question of whether the Magic will be able to execute more consistently.