After every loss, it seems eyes turn to one stat on the score sheet.
It is a broken record that the Orlando Magic struggle to shoot. They have the worst 3-point field goal percentage in the league and made only 8 of 35 3-pointers in their 104-93 loss to the LA Clippers. It marked the eighth time the Magic shot worse than 30 percent from three and the season’s third-worst 3-point shooting performance.
In a league that is more obsessed with 3-point shooting, a team that is missing threes and especially one missing threes at this rate is alarming.
It is costing the team games. Even a halfway decent shooting effort in any of these games would be enough to give this defense a shot to win. The Magic’s defense gave them a chance to win even with their poor shooting in Wednesday’s game.
The Magic stayed afloat as they chased the lead against the Clippers throughout the game. They only succumbed to defeat during a 21-4 run that extended the Clippers’ lead to 19 points. At that point, playing without a three-point shot became too much for the Magic to overcome.
Orlando can win without shooting. Or without elite shooting. Shooting is a way to cover up the team’s other shortcomings. It is a crutch many teams can lean on to reduce their margin for error.
It is not something the Magic can lean on – even if they are creating plenty of good looks and doing the right things by taking more threes this year than they did last year. The Magic continue to profess the process of the threes they take is a good one – perhaps not in this game with the Clippers’ physical defense.
But if the Magic will struggle to make threes and lose ground beyond the arc, that means they have to make up for it elsewhere. They have to dominate other parts of the game.
Their defense is the primary way they stay in games. It is the backbone of everything they do. But the path to victory also means they have to reduce turnovers (14 for 18 points for the Magic compared to forcing 25 turnovers for 25 points from the Clippers). It means they have to limit transition opportunities that can beat the defense (16-10 in the Magic’s favor Wednesday). It means they must win the paint (48-40 in the Magic’s favor too).
It means they have to dominate the glass. Orlando leads the league in defensive rebound rate. But in Monday’s win over the Phoenix Suns and again in Wednesday’s loss to the LA Clippers, the Magic got beat on the glass. Ivica Zubac had eight offensive rebounds on his own as the Clippers gathered 15 for 17 second-chance points. The Magic grabbed only two offensive rebounds total.
Giving away that many possessions – particularly during that third-quarter run – is just too much for a Magic team with shooting deficiencies to overcome. Orlando is playing catch-up in that way. The Magic are playing from behind because of their poor shooting.
Shooting matters for this team. Life would be a lot easier if they could make shots. But the Magic have a way to win without it. The Magic can survive without shooting.
