Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley spent the second quarter of Tuesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the broadcast for NBATV, talking about everything having to do with the Magic's upcoming season.
There is no denying the excitement over what the Magic can be. Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas praised the Magic for addressing all of their key needs this offseason. The biggest, of course, being the team's shooting.
It is undoubted that the additions of Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones greatly addressed the team's shooting.
When Mosley was asked about the play of Jase Richardson, he talked about his connectivity and basketball IQ before Isiah Thomas interjected and added his shooting. Mosley, trying to be diplomatic, sheepishly added his shooting, too.
It is the topic that nobody can escape. It is the thing the Magic needed to address after finishing last in the league in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-pointers made per game. With the 27th-rated offense by offensive rating, every focus for the Magic is on trying to improve their shooting so they can simply score more points.
Orlando appears to have done that. But another statement from Mosley during that interview also stood out: It is nice to say all these things about the shooting the Magic added in July. It is going to come down to what they do in October and November and beyond that determines if it worked.
The Magic have to make those shots when it counts during the season. And while the Magic are very optimistic about what they can do, shooting remains the biggest question mark for the team.
As the Orlando Magic could see in the 92-75 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that was happening on the court in front of Mosley, shooting is a great equalizer. And a poor shooting performance puts even a good defensive effort in a bind.
The Magic's season will once again come down to their shooting.
The Magic addressed their shooting needs (again)
The Summer League team is not the main roster team. No one is going to freak out over a bad shooting performance or a blowout loss (especially with the Orlando Magic's main roster players all sitting out and likely done for the week). The Magic's best shooters are not in Las Vegas playing.
But the Magic have needed to address shooting in a meaningful way for much of the last decade.
The highest the team has finished in 3-point field goal percentage since Dwight Howard's departure in 2012 is 12th (35.6 percent in the 2019 season). They have been outside the bottom 10 in 3-point field goal percentage just four times in that span.
Orlando thought it was addressing its shooting by adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency last summer. The veteran wing was one of the most efficient shooters coming from the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets crew.
But he struggled mightily, shooting 34.2 percent from three, his lowest since the 2016 season. To say the least, things did not work out with Caldwell-Pope, even if injuries helped explain part of that.
Orlando shot 31.8 percent from three, the second-worst 3-point field goal percentage in franchise history.
The Magic could not exit their offseason without meaningfully addressing their shooting.
Acquiring Desmond Bane was the first shot. He made 39.2 percent from three last year, just the second season in his five seasons shooting worse than 40 percent. He still made 42.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, according to data from Second Spectrum.
Adding Tyus Jones in free agency further added to their shooting. Jones shot 41.4 percent from three last year for the Phoenix Suns and is a career 37.8 percent 3-point shooter. He made 43.0 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last year.
The Magic went somewhat against their type to draft Jase Richardson in the draft. The smaller guard has delivered with his shooting so far, making three of his six 3-pointers in the two Summer League games he played after making 41.2 percent of his threes at Michigan State.
Those numbers alone would suggest the Magic's shooting has taken a sizable leap. It would suggest the Magic have addressed their shooting issues, especially if their young players continue to improve and they have good health to establish their new lineup.
Of course, nobody knows for sure. Everything for this team looks good on paper, but the Magic have to put everything together. That is a responsibility that falls on Jamahl Mosley and his coaching staff. They have the tools to be better.
Shooting remains the biggest swing stat
The Orlando Magic saw very clearly last year that no matter how strong their defense is, the ability to make shots is a huge boost to any team. It is a crushing burden not being able to hit shots, and it eventually leads to cracks.
The Magic's Summer League team has had an up-and-down time shooting in the loss on Tuesday. They found themselves climbing uphill with their shooting struggles.
The Orlando Magic, playing without Tristan da Silva, Noah Penda and Jase Richardson, shot just 32.3 percent and 9 for 36 from three in the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. A game like that is not something that the Magic will take much away from -- Ethan Thompson led the team with 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting from three and Wendell Moore Jr. had 14.
But the game served as a healthy reminder that shooting is the ultimate swing stat. It is impossible to make any headway without it.
Orlando was not out of the game until the end. The Magic's defensive identity and effort have translated to Summer League -- as it seemingly does every year. But without quality shooting, that effort does not create a competitive team.
Summer League coach Ameer Bahhur said he thought that at times the Magic let their lack of shotmaking affect their intensity. That is only human nature and an issue the Magic had last year through all of their shooting struggles.
The Magic know they must shoot better to achieve their goals. They have worked hard to make the main roster better prepared for the regular season. They have improved their personnel.
But there is still work to do. And shooting will be a big key for the team as it looks ahead to next season.