NBA Power Rankings: Where's Orlando Magic After 1-6 Start?
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ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-6 record through seven games, but that doesn't tell the full story.
The Magic has been injured beyond belief in the backcourt and has only seen two home games across its first seven contests. Out of the six losses, four were by 10 points or less.
This week, the Magic played some tough opponents and grabbed its first win, a 20-point victory against the Charlotte Hornets. That's why Orlando moves five spots up from 29 to 24 in The Athletic's latest power rankings.
"Jamahl Mosley has this team defending pretty well early on," The Athletic writes. "Orlando does a solid job of protecting the rim, and it’s getting some help by everything in the paint that isn’t the restricted area bouncing the Magic’s way. The results are solid enough so far."
The defense is why the team rises, however, what's preventing the team from rising further is its shooting from distance. Orlando ranks 27th in offensive rating and 26th in effective field goal percentage.
"The Magic are pretty awful on offense, and a lot of it has to do with their inability to knock down open shots from 3-point range," The Athletic writes. "They’re equally bad on pull-up 3-pointers and catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. They’re sub-30 percent on open 3-pointers and below 35 percent on wide-open 3-pointers."
The Magic faces one more game on the road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday before a seven-game homestand that begins Thursday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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