At another point in the season, the Orlando Magic would have been dead in the water giving up six 3-pointers to even the Washington Wizards in the first quarter. They would have been dead in the water giving up 17 3-pointers for the game.
Orlando's poor shooting has been the story throughout the season. And the Magic are now 2-9 when they give up 15 or more 3-pointers. Orlando does not have the firepower offensively to keep up with most teams when they make that many threes. It is crushing for this team to play under the weight of those shots.
Half of the Magic's defensive strategy has been to limit three-point shots.
That was not the case Friday night. The Magic were able to match the Wizards' three-point shooting. They were able to put pressure on them and get into the paint. They were able to pick up the pace.
Despite some notably poor games against solid defensive teams this week in the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic's offense is starting to find a rhythm. Better shooting performances are happening more regularly. Orlando is scoring points again.
For the first time in a while, the offense does not seem to be the catastrophe it has been for most of the season. The team is finding a way to keep up offensively.
"I really think the pace of the game. Looking at it we had 24 fast-break points [Friday]," coach Jamahl Mosley said after practice Sunday. "Our ability to get out and run off th stops. Our ability to share and move the basketball and trust the pass I think is very important. Guys willing to step into their shots with confidence. We have to keep building on that as we move forward."
Pace has been a major consideration all season
Orlando is still 29th in the league with 96.7 possessions per 48 minutes. The team tends to get into its offense slowly and often settles for shots late in the shot clock. The Magic are second in the league with 9.7 field goal attempts per game in the last four seconds in the shot clock. They make only 33.1 percent of those shots.
The Magic have struggled to find any way to create easy shot opportunities. The Magic are even 23rd in fast break points with 13.8 per game despite all the turnovers they create.
For the Magic to find some offensive flow, they have needed to get out on the break.
Since the All-Star break, the Magic's raw pace has not picked up significantly. The team is averaging only 96.9 possessions per 48 minutes. But the team is shooting 42.3 percent on 10.1 field goal attempts in the last four seconds of the shot clock.
More importantly, the Magic are scoring 14.7 fastbreak points per game (16th in the league).
Even more importantly, the Magic's 28th-rated offensive rating of 108.1 points per 100 possessions has jumped to 111.2 points per 100 possessions since the All-Star break (21st in the league).
It is something small, but it is something. The Magic will take any improvement they can get. They are doing something right.
"I think we're putting more points on the board, scoring a bit more easier," Paolo Banchero said after practice Sunday. "I think that goes hand in hand with playing faster. I think it's helping everybody when we can get shots early in the clock rather than waiting four or five seconds playing later in the clock. Taking advantage of those early opportunities helps our offense."
The Magic's offense has found something—beyond Banchero's scoring binge. Orlando has scored more than the team's season average in 11 of the 15 games since the All-Star break. The Magic have posted an offensive rating of 115 or more in six of the past 11 games.
Considering how much the Magic have struggled, they will take whatever improvements they can get.
Jamahl Mosley credited the insertion of Cory Joseph into the starting lineup for helping boost the team's offense.
Mosley said Joseph does a good job getting the ball over the mid-court line quicker and getting the team into the offense fast enough to attack defenses before they are set. It is critical to their success.
The Magic have a team-best 122.1 offensive rating with Joseph on the floor. The team has a pace of 98.3 possessions per 48 minutes. Orlando's starting group with Joseph at point guard has a 120.6 offensive rating and a +18.1 net rating.
Things are clicking in small ways as the Magic try to navigate to the end of the season.
"I think the guys are doing a very good job of recognizing situations," Mosley said after practice Sunday. "When teams load up, understanding how Paolo [Banchero] needs to make passes and how Franz [Wagner] needs to make passes, they are finding the open man and guys are willing and understanding how they need to step in and make shots. That's what the rhythm of the offense is doing but it starts with us being able to push that pace a little bit more each time we step on the floor."
Stats like these continue to suggest the Magic will be better off with a traditional point guard and organizer in the lineup. Something the team certainly must consider in the offseason.
If playing faster is the way to unlock some offense, the Magic will certainly have to consider ways to pick up the pace whether it is this year or moving forward.
The Magic's offensive "improvement" is not without hiccups. The Magic still fell well short in the loss to the Rockets. And they are still hunting for consistency even as they shoot better overall.
The Magic still fall back into bad habits and play too slowly and deliberately. They will still go through long offensive lulls. That costs them especially against quality opponents.
But the Magic have found some rhythm. They might be small improvements, but they are something. The Magic are finding ways to keep up and give their defense a chance to get stops.