The Orlando Magic won the tip-off of their preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Franz Wagner corralled the ball and took it upcourt.
Then the magic started.
Soon after Franz Wagner got over the mid-court line, he went off a Paolo Banchero screen to get downhill. He drew Zach Edey toward him and kicked it out to the corner for a Wendell Carter three. The Magic were off to the races.
That is a basic set up and a basic read. But it happened again and again and again.
Paolo Banchero would get the ball downhill and drop the ball off to Wendell Carter for a dunk. Wagner would get downhill, kick out and get the ball going around the horn, driving and kicking until the team got an ideal shot.
And more than that, the shots went in. The ball moved inside out, leaving the Grizzlies' heads spinning. Before they knew it, they were down double digits and as much as 18 as the Magic's starters dominated their game.
The Magic went on to win their preseason opener 122-118 over the Grizzlies. But the lasting impact was an offense that moved faster and was more aggressive. An offense that looked modern.
An offense that was surprisingly effective.
"We talked a lot about trying to sprint into organization going into this game," coach Sean Sweeney said after Wednesday's win. "I thought we did a really nice job of that, especially in the first half. Throughout the game, we did a good job trying to get into our offense and play with great pace throughout a possession. Great ball movement throughout the possession."
Those are the anecdotes that suggested things were different. The Magic were playing with more pace in the halfcourt, making quick decisions and moving it together.
The numbers back up that something was different about this team.
In the first half, the Magic scored 64 points and had a 125.5 offensive rating. They tallied 18 assists on 21 field goal makes in the opening half. They made 10 of 23 3-pointers, an absurd number of attempts for this team, but mostly nothing anyone could complain about with the quality of their looks.
The Magic were impressive offensively throughout the night.
Their 122 points came with a 123.2 offensive rating. They made 20 of 45 (44.4 percent) from three, both a lot for the attempts and for the makes for this team. They recorded 35 assists on 41 field goals. Orlando shot 28 free throws and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds for 15 second-chance points.
For a Magic team that struggles to score, it was impressive the ease that the Magic got good looks and that they made them. Particularly when the starters were in -- all five starters were a positive plus/minus with Desmond Bane, Jase Richardson and Wendell Carter at +11 in the first half, a sign of the team's strong starting group.
Those all point to something different. If only for one game.
Is this truly a new leaf for the Magic?
Inside-Out
Ultimately, what looked the most different was not merely the speed at which the Orlando Magic played. It was how quickly the ball moved inside-out. It was how the Magic generated open 3-point looks and used their paint pressure to get open shots. It was the unselfishness and intensity to attack.
This was not a slowed-down, pick-and-roll, isolation offense. This was a fast-paced and moving offense.
That is the only way the team could put up the points it did.
Orlando shot 46.6 percent for the game. The team made 20 of 45 threes. Nearly half the team's field goals and more than half of its attempts in this game were from deep. The Magic took 45 3-point attempts just three times last year.
Observation would suggest that many of these shots were good or decent looks. This was not a team chucking. And the Magic built their 18-point first-half lead because these shots were going in.
"If we do a good job with our passing on time and on target," Sean Sweeney said after Wednesday's win. "If we do a good job with our shot prep and we take the right shots, we feel pretty good about the shots we're going to take. And we'll make a few of them like we did tonight."
Sweeney spoke endlessly during training camp about the team's spacing principles. This may not be the best shooting team in the world, but they will put players in positions to make shots. That at least gives them a fighting chance.
It is not likely sustainable for this team to succeed taking so many threes. The team will crash down to Earth.
Then again, most of those shots came off great passing. The Magic moved quickly, attacking and kicking out until they got the look they wanted and wore down the defense.
This is what a modern offense looks like that stretches a team apart with its spacing and shooting.
The pass factor
It was not merely that the Orlando Magic took a lot of threes. Almost every shot the Magic took was generated by an assist.
Orlando had 35 assists on 41 field goal makes. There were surely more potential assists and even some free throw assists not counted.
The Magic had only three games of 35 or more assists last year and 20 of 30 or more assists. If that level of passing and intention are part of the equation, the Magic will be a difficult to team to handle.
"I think everybody played with really good pace," Tristan da Silva said after Wednesday's win. "Every time I feel like we attacked early and got ot the paint and made the right decisions with a spray out or finishing at the rim, I feel like we played together well and trusted each other on the offensive end."
Da Silva was as much a beneficiary of this as anyone. He led the team with 19 points, making four of 10 from deep. He knows his role is to space the floor and shoot when he gets the opportunity.
But the process of getting these shots was solid. Orlando was not chucking or shooting bailout threes, as often might be the case in a preseason game.
The Magic were attacking the paint and kicking out and then attacking again or sending it around the horn. The Magic took a lot of the swing-swing threes coaches seek. The defense was chasing them.
There will be a reshuffling of roles throughout camp. Jalen Suggs will be introduced to give the team another ball-handler and potential shooter. Paolo Banchero will get more on-ball and lead reps. Desmond Bane will take more than three shots in a game (he made all three of his 3-pointers).
But it was all positive. The Magic's process was quicker. The results led to cleaner shots. And for one night, there were signs the Magic's offense can truly come alive.
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