3 2024 New Year's resolutions for the Orlando Magic
3 New Year's Resolutions for the Orlando Magic in 2024
1. Develop an alternate gameplan against elite three-point shooting teams
This was going to be difficult for the Orlando Magic to deal with as the season progressed.
While they have found great success this season despite not being a high-volume three-point shooting team (last in attempts with 29.7 per game), playing against the elite teams from deep has been a struggle, especially once they fall behind.
Against teams in the top 10 in three-point percentage, Orlando sits at 3-5. It has been a relatively small sample size this season, but for a team that thrives in the paint -- they sit second in the league at 55.9 points in the paint per game -- it works well until teams start hitting from behind the arc.
Threes are worth more than two and at a certain point, that adds up. The Magic are always going against the 3-point math.
Orlando has done well to score off of kick-out threes. The Magic make 39.6 percent of their spot-up opportunities, according to Synergy, and make 35.4 percent of their catch-and-shoot 3-pointers according to Second Spectrum. Those opportunities are there, but the team has to make these shots.
Their defense has been able to force teams into tough looks, but an overall note for the upcoming calendar year is to have alternate game plans. That is the mark of a playoff team.
Orlando simply cannot keep up when shooting a high clip of threes. If they cannot get to the paint or score from the foul line, the Magic's offense simply sputters. They are a one-dimensional offense in the half-court.
The team is eventually going to have to take and make 3-pointers to succeed at the highest levels.
In games where Orlanod has shot more than 35 threes, the team is 2-6. That is mostly due to getting in a hole and needing the points to get out of it. But in those games, half of them came against teams in the top 10 in three-point attempts.
Those will fall and the Magic need a way to get out of that hole. They just cannot keep up with teams that can fire from deep at volume.
It will likely start on the defensive end. Good defense will lead to transition points and points in the paint, two areas that Orlando has been thriving in this season. In the halfcourt, they need an alternate game plan to keep up.