What got into the Magic’s awful offense — and what does it mean for the future? (2024)

ORLANDO, Fla. — What a dramatic improvement.

Before the All-Star break, the Orlando Magic often struggled to score. Their offense ranked near the bottom of the NBA in points per possession.

But after the break, the Magic led the entire league in offense.

What on earth happened?

And more importantly, what will the sudden surge mean with regard to the Magic’s upcoming personnel decisions?

Many factors contributed to Orlando’s transformation on offense.

“It’s never one big thing,” coach Steve Clifford said. “It’s a bunch of little things.”

Here is a deep dive into all of them.

Aaron Gordon: power forward

For most of the season, the Magic asked Gordon to play small forward, a position that does not suit his offensive game. His skill set has distinct strengths, but at this stage of his career, he does not create well off the dribble or shoot well enough consistently from long range to be a wing. Nonetheless, the Magic had to start both Gordon and Jonathan Isaac at the forward spots, and since Isaac is even less of a small forward than Gordon is, Gordon had to play the three.

And when Isaac suffered a serious knee injury on Jan. 1, Clifford did not move Gordon quickly enough to power forward. In retrospect, the team would have been better served to move Wes Iwundu to small forward and shift Gordon to power forward instead of converting third-string center Khem Birch to the four.

The trade deadline deal to acquire small forward James Ennis III made it more palatable for Clifford to move Gordon to the four, and Gordon flourished.

Gordon is a smart, precise passer, and Clifford started to utilize Gordon’s passing skill more. The result: Gordon’s assist average more than doubled, going from 3.1 per game before the break to 6.8 per game after the break.

In the clip that follows, Gordon hurls a pinpoint bounce pass that hits a cutting Terrence Ross in stride for an easy dunk:

One great dunker sets up another.@Double0AG | @TerrenceRoss pic.twitter.com/Z4s2CWV1bz

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 11, 2020

Gordon also did a better job exploiting mismatches against smaller or less agile defenders, often creating close-range shots.

💪 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙂 𝙈𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙎 💪@Double0AG | #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/VapgDTZsfz

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 7, 2020

And Gordon also made savvy plays on the offensive glass. When the Magic faced small-ball opponents, Gordon found himself in situations where he knew he could grab offensive rebounds and score on tap-ins or putbacks.

😤 Imposing his will 😤 @Double0AG | #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/TjmSImf9Yg

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 8, 2020

The takeaway: Gordon is much more effective on offense at power forward than at small forward. That’s clear.

But what will happen in future seasons when Isaac returns from his knee injury? The Magic almost certainly would have to start Gordon and Isaac at the forward spots, and that would force Clifford to start Gordon or Isaac at the three. A starting-forward tandem of Gordon and Isaac can be a defensive juggernaut but also remain a big problem for the Magic’s offense for at least as long as Gordon and Isaac remain below-average 3-point shooters.

The positional overlap could prompt the Magic to trade Gordon, but since Gordon has two full years remaining on a descending-salary contract, the Magic have no urgency to make an immediate deal.

Strength of schedule

The Magic’s schedule eased tremendously after the break, and of course, playing easier opponents benefited the offense.

At the All-Star break, the Magic had played the league’s fourth-toughest schedule, per ESPN. At the time, the Magic’s post-break schedule was the league’s third-easiest schedule, according to Tankathon.

Five of Orlando’s 10 post-break opponents — Atlanta, Minnesota, San Antonio, Portland and Minnesota (again) — rank in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating. Plus, Houston seemed to be in total disarray during Orlando’s 126-106 victory on March 8.

However, the Orlando offense did play well against two strong defensive teams. The Nets are eighth in defensive rating, but on Feb. 24, Orlando scored 118.6 points per 100 possessions in a 115-113 win in Brooklyn. The Heat are 14th in defensive rating, but on March 4, the Magic tallied 121.5 points per 100 possessions in a 116-113 road loss.

The takeaway: Orlando’s offensive surge resulted in large part from playing subpar competition. But the strong offensive games against Brooklyn and Miami should be encouraging. From a pure basketball sense, this is one of the reasons why the suspension of the season, while necessary, will make Magic decision-makers’ jobs more difficult. Seeing the 2019-20 season play out to its previously scheduled conclusion would have given the Magic front office a much larger sample size to draw conclusions about their personnel.

Better pace

“Pace” has two meanings.

In this case, however, I am solely referring to the increased speed with which the Magic got into their offense, not an increased number of offensive possessions.

The faster a team begins its sets, the more time it has relative to the shot clock to move into its second, third and fourth actions, moving the ball in search of optimal shots.

Markelle Fultz, in particular, did a superb job speeding up the pace after the break, and he also took advantage of transition opportunities.

Asked to describe how he improved during the season, Fultz answered: “Offensively, I think (I’m) just being more comfortable and being aggressive — finding my shot, to go from 3-point and mid-range especially, and just getting to the rim. Not only that but finding my teammates and finding a good pace to help our team play at and push everybody to move a little bit faster in transition and just get our offense moving faster. I think it just helps us.”

The takeaway: The Magic must play at a fast pace whenever basketball resumes — simple as that. Fultz can continue that style of play, which suits his strengths.

The Human Torch reignites

It took until Game 56, but Terrence Ross finally regained his form.

Before the break, he averaged 13.4 points on 38.7 percent shooting from the field and 32.2 percent 3-point shooting.

After the break, he averaged a team-high 22.8 points on 48.7 percent shooting overall and 50.6 percent from 3-point range.

So what changed?

As the following chart shows, Ross started to make a higher percentage of his tightly contested 3-point tries, and he and the Magic generated a much larger number of open or wide-open 3s per game for him.

The changes in Ross’ number of open and wide-open 3-point attempts are significant. Before the All-Star break, Ross attempted a total of 2.9 open and wide-open 3s per game. After the break, the number shot up to 5.2.

How did the team generate more open or wide-open 3s for Ross?

Ross and the Magic no doubt benefited significantly from facing opponents with bad defenses. Bad defenses generally allow more open shots than good defenses.

In addition, the Magic did a better job screening for Ross. Look at this clip from March 10, when the Magic defeated the Grizzlies in Memphis 120-115. On this play, Nikola Vucevic prevents two defenders — Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks — from effectively contesting Ross’ critical catch-and-shoot 3 late in the game.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/DFTW9A0bhd

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 11, 2020

So much of a player’s success (or lack thereof) depends on the people around him. In this case, Ross benefited from the return of D.J. Augustin from a month-long absence due to injury. Although Augustin’s 3-point numbers have dipped significantly this season, Augustin’s “gravity” — opponents’ tendency to defend him far out on the perimeter — helps everyone around him, including Ross.

And it should be noted that Mo Bamba and Michael Carter-Williams, who also come off the bench, hit their shooting strides at the same time, which may have created better opportunities for Ross.

Gordon’s emergence as a passer aided Ross, as well. The duo averaged 20.9 minutes of playing time together post-break, and there were occasions when Gordon fed Ross on-time, on-target passes that set him up for either cutting baskets or quality long-range opportunities.

Here, in this clip from Feb. 29 in San Antonio, Gordon has the ball on the left edge of the lane but is guarded well by Trey Lyles. Gordon deserves credit for not forcing a drive or a bad shot. Instead, with Vucevic pointing toward Ross as the play developed (and perhaps yelling that Ross was open), Gordon hurled a beautiful pass to Ross, and Ross swished the 3.

🔥 Time to light the Torch 🔥@TerrenceRoss | #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/PCcwiKwl3h

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 1, 2020

The takeaway: Ross’ 10 games after the break should remind the Magic what he can accomplish when he’s put in situations to succeed. While it’s correct that Ross is a very good “bad-shot shooter” whose jumping ability allows him to launch shots cleanly against tight coverage, it still would benefit Ross and the Magic if they can generate as many wide-open looks for him as possible. Playing Ross alongside capable shooters, Gordon’s improved passing and better screening all must remain priorities.

Markelle Fultz hits his stride

Fultz’s overall court generalship has been good all season, but it jumped to another level after the All-Star break. With more experience under his belt, and thanks to more familiarity with his teammates, Fultz did an even better job knowing when to attack and when to create for others.

“I think we’re still learning each other, and it’s only going to get better as they learn me more and see the stuff that I can do, and I think that’s the fun part about it,” Fultz said. “There’s still so much growth that can happen, and that’s what I’m most excited about.”

Clifford said Fultz’s final four games before the suspension of the season was the best stretch he has played all season.

Fultz capped it off by making several key plays down the stretch of the victory in Memphis, including the beautiful layup in the clip that follows. As Clifford said after the game, only a few players leaguewide could have converted this shot.

💫 @MarkelleF 💫 pic.twitter.com/PVbFiBIVdX

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 11, 2020

The takeaway: Perhaps the most important storyline of the Magic’s season has been Fultz’s progression. Has he proven he can be Orlando’s point guard of the future?

Magic officials have been ecstatic about his attitude, his work ethic and his play. True, his outside shot remains a serious concern; in the modern NBA, floor spacing and extending defenses are critical. But Fultz made only 16.7 percent of his 3s after the All-Star break, and the Magic offense still excelled.

James Ennis’ impact on others

Traded to Orlando on Feb. 6, Ennis moved into the Magic starting lineup in the team’s first game after the All-Star break. In his 10 games as a starter, Ennis’ statistics are modest, at best, with averages of 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 40.7 percent overall shooting.

But stats do not come close to explaining Ennis’ impact.

By starting him at small forward, and then playing him occasionally at power forward when Gordon rests, Ennis stabilized the entire team.

Ennis knows what he does well, and just as importantly, he knows his limitations. He attacks opportunistically and rarely takes bad shots. As a result, he facilitates ball movement.

Here, on this play from a March 2 loss to Portland, Ennis drives to the hoop but sees that shot-blocker extraordinaire Hassan Whiteside would make any shot attempt difficult. So instead of hoisting a low-percentage shot, Ennis throws the ball back to the perimeter, setting up Vucevic for an open 3.

THREEEE-KOLA@NikolaVucevic | #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/wKOilQaigQ

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 3, 2020

The next clip also demonstrates Ennis’ savvy. As Gordon Euro steps, he draws the attention of three Timberwolves defenders. Ennis recognizes a seam in the defense and cuts into the open space. Gordon spots Ennis and feeds him with a nice pass, resulting in an easy dunk.

This looks 🔥 in slow motion. @JamesDa_Truth | #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/d0NsO186np

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) February 29, 2020

Ennis is an average 3-point shooter, but since he’s in his sixth season, he has enough credibility with opposing defenses that they are less likely to sag off him than some of his Magic teammates. Ennis’ gravity, in turn, opens the floor for teammates and enhances their opportunities.

“It starts with range shooting, and obviously, he’s played enough in our league and he’s played in enough big games so that they’re conscious of him,” Clifford said. “They’re not going to let him just catch the ball and not close (out) to him. The other part of it is it’s the very nature of how he plays. He plays in a way that your team is going to function well.”

The takeaway: Things may get complicated. If the season resumes, and if Isaac is ready to play after an extended absence due to a knee injury — two substantial “ifs” — what would happen to Ennis’ role? In that scenario, it seems likely that Gordon and Isaac would start at the forward spots, which would mitigate Ennis’ impact and likely would force Clifford to move Gordon back to small forward.

But perhaps Clifford instead should work Isaac back in slowly. A training camp in a resumed season likely would be brief, and it would make sense not to push Isaac too fast. Perhaps it would be best for Clifford to continue with a starting frontcourt of Ennis at small forward, Gordon at power forward and Vucevic at center. Then, Clifford could bring Isaac in off the bench. That would have two positives: It would help the offense to keep clicking and would place less pressure on Isaac as he attempts to knock off the rust following a long layoff.

The 2020-21 season would be a different story. First, Ennis has a player option for 2020-21, meaning he could become a free agent. But even if Ennis exercises his player option to remain with the Magic, Gordon and Isaac would have to start at the forward spots.

(Top photo of Markelle Fultz and Trae Young: Scott Cunningham / NBAE via Getty Images)