Orlando Magic painting the way without Paolo Banchero

Attacks have been more consistent for the Magic in their recent winning run

Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Orlando Magic have been streaking lately, winning 3 in a row and 8 of their last 10. The most recent win put them out of the play-in and into the 5th seed, with only 1 game separating them from the 2nd seed. 

One trend has stood out in the most recent win streak. The Orlando Magic have been a streaky three-point shooting team, and they seem to have shifted gears in their offensive approach to attacking the paint more often. Remarkably, they've been doing this without their most gifted interior player, Paolo Banchero, who has missed close to a month with a groin injury.

In the last 3 games, the Magic have had at least 60 points in the paint, propelling them to the third-best team in the league in that regard. This approach allowed them to beat the best team in the east, the Detroit Pistons, as well as dispatch of formidable teams such as the Bulls & the 76ers. 

The three-point shooting for this team has been a struggle over the past few seasons. Although Desmond Bane was brought in primarily for his shooting prowess, his ability to get to the rim & finish has unlocked another layer to this team’s offense. 

When asked about the recent stretch of points in the paint, Jamahl Mosley answered,

“I think our ability to get downhill, we've done a great job of that, you know, getting to the free throw line, attacking the basket relentlessly. I think we've done a great job of continuing to talk about putting pressure on the rim, and that's going to be what we do as one of our staples.”

Jamahl Mosely

Because of this willingness to attack, the Magic have been able to get to the free-throw line a league-best 30.8 times per game. Driving to the rim with this much intent forces teams to collapse defensively, allowing Magic shooters to find themselves open looks. 

When I asked Anthony Black about how he’s felt the team has been able to add points in the paint as part of the team’s resume, he answered: 

“Getting out in transition adds to some of those. Using our size, playing off of closeouts and attacking our man, leading us getting to the paint, and that's where it starts for us.” 

Anthony Black

Coach Mosley brought up the next step on using this paint attack to help develop other parts of the offense: 

“Now, where we have to continue to get better is when we get down there, and there is a crowd, can we find the spray-outs for feet set threes?“

If the Magic can parlay their paint attack into creating and hitting more of those 3-point shots, this team could very well become one of the most potent offenses in the league.