The Orlando Magic entered this offseason knowing they needed to make some major moves. They knew they needed to address some critical needs to take their next steps into the upcoming season.
Even accounting for all their injuries, they could conclude that their two stars, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, were ready to compete against a title-contending team like the Boston Celtics. But the team as a whole fell woefully short.
Orlando went about fixing many of those issues this offseason. The team made the big splash to add more talent in Desmond Bane, addressing the desperate shooting needs they have and adding another player who can create and make plays for everyone else.
It was a seismic move across the Eastern Conference because of how good Bane is. It went against the grain of what everyone thought the Magic would do this offseason. Everyone pegged the Magic as chasing a point guard.
And that is the need that is still left unaddressed.
Orlando is entering the season with its starting lineup pretty much set -- Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter. What that lineup lacks is a true playmaker and point guard. Orlando is going into the offseason trying to create passing, playmaking and organization by committee.
In theory, this approach could work. But it is one of the biggest risks the Magic have heading into the season.
And whether they can create enough assists and passing from unnatural point guards could determine their outcome.
"I think they certainly have 50-win potential," Tim McMahon said on the Hoop Collective podcast. "How dangerous are they come playoff time, I'm not certain. Bane fixes a lot of their offensive issues. But I still think they are a little light in the playmaking. Although the natural development from Franz and Banchero could address that issue."
Orlando, which finished 27th in the league in offensive rating and had one of the worst 3-point shooting season of the last decade, desperately needed an infusion of offense to function. Injuries and the time it took for Banchero and Wagner to get back up to speed when they returned, certainly drained the offense for long periods.
The Magic indeed went about fixing their playmaking, shooting and offensive issues with the acquisition of Desmond Bane and veteran point guard Tyus Jones. Still, a lot of their playmaking and organization will come down to players who are not natural point guards and whether they can organize the team and make plays for others.
There is absolute proof a point guard would boost this team.
Adding playmaking
From a math standpoint, the Orlando Magic have indeed improved their potential for playmaking.
Just maintaining the team's averages from last year would suggest a massive increase in assists and playmaing on its own.
Last year, Paolo Banchero averaged 4.8 assists per game and Franz Wagner averaged 4.7 assists per game. Jalen Suggs, the presumed starting point guard in name at least, averaged 3.7 assists per game. They accounted for 33.5 percent of Orlando's total assists, even with the injuries.
The addition of Desmond Bane provides a lot of potential playmaking. He averaged 5.3 assists per game. Just from the trade standpoint, the Magic added 5.3 assists per game against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's 1.8 assists per game and Cole Anthony's 2.9 assists per game.
Tyus Jones is a big addition, too. He is the only natural point guard on the roster now. He averaged 5.3 assists per game last year. He averaged 3.5 assists per game as a reserve last year.
From a raw standpoint, the Magic added significantly more playmaking and creation to their lineup. Even if they plan to run a point-guard-by-committee lineup, that is an increase in playmaking and creation that should help the Magic's offense get moving.
Orlando has more passers and passing this year.
The point guard problem
But that does not quite get at the point guard problem.
If last season proved anything, it was how vital the addition of Cory Joseph, a natural point guard and game manager, was to the team's Playoff push.
Plenty of fans around the league were shocked to see Joseph in the starting lineup when the Magic opened their playoff series. But it made complete sense for Orlando fans. His addition to the lineup flipped the season.
The Magic finished the season with a 108.9 offensive rating. After Joseph entered the starting lineup on March 13, they had a 114.7 offensive rating (19th in the league during that time!). With Joseph in the lineup at that time, the Magic had a 115.6 offensive rating with Joseph on the floor.
Lineups with Banchero and Joseph on the floor together had a +7.9 net rating and 115.2 offensive rating in 320 minutes, and lineups with Wagner and Joseph had a +11.0 net rating and 116.8 offensive rating in 264 minutes.
Lineups with Banchero and Suggs had a +7.0 net rating and 108.4 offensive rating in 139 minutes last season. Lineups with wagner and Suggs had a +6.2 net rating and 111.0 offensive rating in 525 minutes.
It is not that Orlando will not benefit from Suggs' return. And the addition of Desmond Bane's spacing will only further create more space.
But last year proved that even a simple game-managing point guard could unlock something else in the Magic's offense. That is an element they are unsure of whether they have heading into next season.
That may not be important in the regular season. The Magic's defense and their star power should get them through to the playoffs. It may become something important in those chaotic playoff games when the team needs to get a good shot, get organized and stay calm.
Orlando's playmaking problem is less about raw stats and more about an intangible thing the team must find.
The Magic are going into the season with this experiment. They will see how it turns out as they aim for a title.