Paolo Banchero and the Magic still haven’t found the right formula

With the arrival of Desmond Bane last summer, Magic hoped to make a leap in the Eastern hierarchy. Alas, at the All-Star break, the club from Florida is only in 7th place in the East, with 28 wins and 25 losses…

sure, the wounds were still severe Jamal Mosley’s team, but the problem isn’t just there. The slowest team in the NBA last season with 96.5 possessions per game, Paolo Banchero’s team decided to pick up the pace this season, especially improving their offense.

The result? The Magic are now 16th in pace (100.6 possessions per game), and their offensive efficiency has improved, from 27th (108.9 points scored per 100 possessions) to 19th (113.6), but their defensive efficiency has dropped, from 2nd (109,001 points scored) to 1st. (114.0).

“Our results answer this question”

Orlando thus had a fairly well-defined identity, based on a defensive intensity that enabled the run, “stop and run” as defined by Paolo Banchero at the time. Problem: Magic kept the “run” but forgot the “stop” part of this mantra. And the power forward doesn’t seem to be a fan of this new system at all…

“By playing fast, we will inevitably concede more points, simply because it speeds up the game and has more possession”, he explained at the end of October. “But I think we need to be smarter about how we play fast. If we play fast without scoring, it’s not ideal. Purpose is more important than speed. So we can play fast, but if there’s no direction…”

The situation hasn’t changed much since then, so just rumors of tension appeared with the coach.

“Our results answer this question” replicates the old ROI to the question if the offensive system gets the best out of the players. “I’m not going to list the problems with our offense or what I think is wrong with our offense. But nobody can say it’s at the level it should be or could be.”

“I think everything is fine”

Paolo Banchero is also the first to be affected as his offensive efficiency has declined. Enough to weigh down the Magic in the half court, where the club shows only the 23rd offensive efficiency in the NBA…

“It’s human nature”Wendell Carter Jr. answers. “It’s an offense-oriented league. Everybody wants to play well on offense, including me, and sometimes when things don’t go our way offensively, we let it affect our effort. We let it affect our defense. We don’t get back (on defense after missed shots). And that’s something we need to improve on, myself included.”

Because it is through defense that the Magic can hope to finish the regular season strong and shake up the hierarchy in the spring, counting on the good health of their executives. And a little optimism?

“I think everything is fine”concludes Jalen Suggs. “We know we had a tough start to the season. We went through ups and downs and tough times, like any team, and here we are: 28 wins and 25 losses, which isn’t too bad.”