Magic 110, Pelicans 107 (OT):
Orlando wins but needs to get to foul line more often
Foul struggles continue in victory at Amway Center.
The Orlando Magic have a new coach, a new offensive system and a new defensive scheme.
Despite all that has changed, one aspect of the team remains painfully the same: its inability to get to the foul line.
The Magic entered their exhibition Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans with just 21.0 free-throw attempts per game, the lowest average in the NBA this preseason.
Making matters even worse: The Magic’s opponents had averaged 22.0 made free throws against them per game before Wednesday.
“We continue to talk to the whole team about it,” coach Scott Skiles said. “The discrepancy just can’t be as big as it is. If your opponents are making more free throws than you shoot, that’s a bad statistic.
“There’s almost nothing you can do to overcome that. You might win a game here or there, but in a 10-, 12- or 15-game span, you’re going to be well below .500. It’s just one of those stats you can’t [overcome regularly]. So we’ve got to either get to the line more or stop fouling as much so the discrepancy isn’t as big.”
The Magic beat the Pelicans 110-107 in overtime as rookie Mario Hezonja scored 19 points. But the Magic once again suffered from a
massive free-throw discrepancy, attempting 35 foul shots to the Pelicans’ 51.
Tobias Harris set a tone several minutes into the first quarter, drawing a foul on Dante Cunningham. Harris is one of the players the Magic need to get to the line more often, but Harris is a bit hamstrung by playing power forward and being stationed on the perimeter as much as he is.
Midway through the first quarter, however, Harris drove to the hoop and scored as he absorbed a foul by Pelicans big man Kendrick Perkins. Harris made the foul shot to complete a three-point play.
But while Harris gave his teammates an example to follow, he and his teammates once again struggled to defend without fouling.
New Orleans went 43 for 51 from the line.
Free-throw struggles have become commonplace with the Magic in recent years. During the 2012-13 season, they attempted just 16.6 free throws per game, the lowest average in NBA history. No team beat the record in the last two seasons, either.
The Magic entered Wednesday shorthanded.
Point guards Elfrid Payton and Shabazz Napier sat out due to injuries.
Although C.J. Watson started at point guard, he had to be subbed out quickly because he encountered early foul trouble. Watson’s time on the bench forced Devyn Marble, a swingman who played both guard spots in college at Iowa, to log heavy minutes at point guard.
Skiles began the night hoping to play Harris and Aaron Gordon simultaneously at the forward spots, and the plan finally materialized late in the third quarter, when they played 2 minutes, 4 seconds together.
Appearing in just his second game this preseason and subject to a playing-time restriction after he recently felt soreness in his left foot, Gordon played 14 minutes against the Pelicans. He finished with two points and five rebounds.
The Magic employed a starting five of Watson, Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier, Harris and Nik Vucevic, which could be the Magic’s starting lineup in its season opener Oct. 28 against the Washington Wizards if Payton remains sidelined by a sore right hamstring.
Watson is one of the Magic’s key additions, along with Hezonja, Napier and big man Jason Smith.
They’ve joined a team that managed just 13.9 freethrow makes and just 19.1 free-throw attempts last season. Both statistics were league lows.
“We definitely need multiple players to step up and get to the line for us,” Skiles said.
jrobbins@ orlandosentinel.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/ magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.