Lack of perimeter shooting hurts Magic
The Orlando Magic have been working against a season-long deficit when it comes to 3-point shooting.
Wednesday’s 139-117 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks was just another example — albeit an extreme one — of the Magic losing at math.
The Magic were actually rolling offensively early. They scored 29 points in the first quarter, 66 in the opening half and knocked down 6 of 12 3s.
They were shooting well, taking care of the ball at a reasonable rate and scoring inside the paint often and efficiently.
But the numbers game caught up with them, with the Bucks knocking down 15 of 26 3s in the first half to take a 76-66 lead at halftime. Milwaukee’s hot shooting outshined the good Orlando had accomplished.
And when the Magic’s 3s stopped falling in the third, it was pretty much a wrap. Their margin of error became thinner with each miss just as the Bucks’ lead grew with each make.
The Bucks knocked down 26 of 56 3s in all, tied for the second most a team has made this season. The Magic went 9 of 33 on 3s — a 51-point advantage in Milwaukee’s favor from beyond the arc.
“You have to give them a ton of credit,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s a team that’s rolling right now. They’re playing at a high level. We were crowding the paint the right way, holding them to 38 points in the paint. Them knocking down 26 3s is hard to overcome.”
The loss, or even the deficit, isn’t surprising.
The Bucks, who are a leaguebest 45-17, are on a 16-game win streak and are one of the league’s best shooting teams.
But the defeat was the latest instance of 3-point shooting being a deciding factor against the Magic.
“Our gameplan was to load up.” Cole Anthony said. “In the first half we did a great job loading up. We were just a second late getting out to shooters in the first half. That allowed them to get into a rhythm. They got a lot of looks and a lot of uncontested looks. On the
other side of that, they got a lot of offensive rebounds and a lot of dagger threes. A credit to them and a discredit to our defense.”
Wednesday was an extreme example. Teams don’t consistently make 20-plus 3s. But it highlighted how thin the margins are for the Magic because of the deficit they face.
The Magic’s 3-point accuracy of 34.6% ranks 23rd while their 10.6 made 3s and 30.7 attempts rank 27th. They allow the league’s second-most attempted 3s (37.3) and third-most makes (13.1).
Orlando generally does well with contesting perimeter shots, with the Magic only allowing opponents to shoot 35% on 3s, tied for the league’s eight-best mark.
But the discrepancy in 3-point shooting on most nights generally gives opposing teams a 6-to-9 point advantage.
The Magic try to combat this deficit by winning other facets of the game — inside the paint, free throws and possessions. They’ve done better with winning in these areas over the last two months.
But when their 3s aren’t falling — and especially when their opponents’ 3s are — the math has proven to be too difficult to consistently overcome.
The Magic are 6-16 when they shoot 30% or worse on 3s. Only the Hornets (26), Raptors (23), Pelicans (22) and Rockets (22) have shot 30% or worse from beyond the arc just as many times or more than Orlando.
Forward Jonathan Isaac won’t be available for tonight’s road-trip-ending matchup at Charlotte (20-44) because of a strained right hamstring/inner thigh. It’ll be his fourth consecutive absence.
The Magic are operating with an abundance of caution with Isaac after he was sidelined for 2 ½ years before returning to the court in late January.