Orlando Magic Need This Host to Find Their Luck and Change Their Luck

ORLANDO – The trip was a perfect storm.

What started as a five-city test that would allow the Orlando Magic to prove themselves against some of the NBA’s elite teams quickly turned sour.

The Magic played their worst quarter of the season when it mattered most in a 3-point loss to Chicago. The next night they learned that All-Star forward Paolo Banchero was injured and would be out for a month or even longer.

The third-year forward performed at an All-NBA level and led Orlando in points and assists. Suddenly the Magic would have to find that production elsewhere. They have yet to do so with a victory since he has been sidelined.

The five-game homestand, which begins Friday night against New Orleans, could be a critical transition for Orlando. The Magic are 3-6, but four of the incoming teams have losing records.

“Once the shots fall and we find that rhythm offensively, it will be a different story,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. It has been difficult to make progress since Banchero’s fall.

A week ago in Cleveland, both Banchero and the Magic players and coach talked about the opportunity his absence presented, however unwelcome.

But in the Magic-Cavaliers’ first rematch since last season’s seven-game playoff run, Cleveland took an 18-point advantage in the first quarter against the stunned visiting team. Orlando finished plus-7 in the final 36 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to beat the top 12.

Two nights later in Dallas, Orlando was competitive for four minutes, then went uncompetitive for 44 minutes, giving up 23 points.

The Magic defense gave their struggling shooters a lifeline against Oklahoma City, but the offense scored fewer than 90 points for the second night in a row.

And in Indianapolis, razor-thin margins of error tripped them up again after the short-handed Magic rallied from multiple double-digit deficits.

Five matches, five defeats. Orlando finished the journey more competitive than when it started, learning more and more about who they were as a team without Banchero at every turn. But as Franz Wagner said on Wednesday night, “(We) want to win games too.”

Sometimes the Magic are more like themselves; They turn one defensive stop after another into an attack, as they did for more than 8 minutes Wednesday night. A 26-7 run turned an 18-point lead into Orlando’s first lead.

But more often than not, inefficient shooting and a lack of consistent defense make progress difficult.

“We keep our hats on the defensive end,” Mosley said before Wednesday’s game against the Pacers. “Guys know how we have to defend, they know what we do, they know our game plan for every game and what we’re trying to accomplish. So we have to do that first to give ourselves that opportunity.”

Magic’s defense holds up; In Banchero’s absence, they sit 13th in the league. However, as the adage goes that good defense becomes good offense, it is also true that poor offense can be the opponent’s best counter attack.

The Magic’s point differential in the first quarter of four losses without Banchero was minus-51 overall. Trailing by 18 points at Cleveland, eight points at Dallas, 13 points at Oklahoma City and 12 points at Indiana after the first game, Orlando found itself constantly struggling from behind without its leading scorer.

The Magic’s offense is posting shooting percentages that are in the worst zone in the league. Since November 1, the Magic rank last in the NBA in shots made per game (35.8), FG% (41.2), eFG% (45.7) and true shooting percentage (50.2). is taking.

They are creating open looks from three games on 18.5 attempts in a game where the nearest defender is 6+ feet away, but they are only converting 25.7 percent of those opportunities, which ranks 29th in the league.

When Banchero played, the Magic’s efficiency differential was +22.6 (Glass Cleaning). That was good for the 94th percentile overall in the NBA. Without him, the Magic have the worst offensive rating in basketball (98.4).

“When we look back at the film — if we go back to the Cleveland game, when they got off to a hot start — obviously guys made tough shots. That’s one piece,” Mosley said Wednesday night. “But when you look at the other side of it, when we miss shots, whether it’s at the basket or long threes, it allows teams to go on a run and get easy baskets.

“So we have to be more careful in the collision, use our spacing better and then know that we have to be able to step in and knock down shots. Now we’re playing against a team.” That’s getting the ball out in transition instead of getting it out of bounds.”

Thanks to the struggles of the other East rivals so far (only Cleveland and Boston are above .500), the Magic could make a move in the standings in this matchup.

They may need some home cooking right now to help them get back on track.

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