Magic’s emphasis on attacking the paint put to test in loss to Grizzlies
At this point in the season, the Orlando Magic’s offensive desires are clear.
They want to attack the rim with the hopes those paint touches will lead to efficient shots: free throws, layups/floaters or kick-out passes for feet-set 3s.
These desires were put to the test in Tuesday’s 113-108 loss at the Memphis Grizzlies, who have one of the league’s stingiest paint defenses.
The Grizzlies won the matchup in large part because they blocked off the paint, disrupted Orlando’s shots near the rim and forced the Magic to take jumpers.
The Magic’s 36 points in the paint were their fewest since they scored a season-low 32 in their Jan. 27 loss to Miami.
Orlando, which shoots 57.7% inside the paint, shot 50% Tuesday.
The Magic, who averaged 30.6 3-point attempts before Tuesday, took a season-high 49, making just 14 (28.6%).
Orlando’s high volume of 3-point attempts was partially skewed by the Magic looking for 3s late to reduce the deficit. The Magic took 7 3s in the final 2:06.
“Got to give credit to them,” rookie star forward Paolo Banchero said to the Orlando Sentinel. “That’s what they baited us into. You go watch that game, the first half, they were just selling out every guy who drove. They [were] forcing the kick-out and kind of give up the catch-and-shoot 3.”
The Grizzlies’ strategy worked, mostly because the Magic didn’t take advantage of the open looks.
Orlando made just 11 of its 42 catch-and-shoot 3s (26.2%), according to the tracking data from the league’s official website. The Magic are shooting 36.1% (8.4 makes on 23.2 attempts) on catch-and-shoot 3s for the season.
For the most part, the Magic weren’t settling for 3s early on.
They drove into the paint and forced the Grizzlies’ defense to collapse before kicking the ball back out to a shooter.
Those shooters didn’t convert the open looks, allowing the Grizzlies to pack the paint because the Magic didn’t make them pay early.
Orlando, which made 2 of 11 on 3s in the first quarter, shot a combined 27.3% (12 of 44) on “open” or “wide open” 3s.
“They were just packing it in,” guard Markelle Fultz said to the Sentinel. “Those were the open shots. We got good looks. We just didn’t make a lot early. As we started to make a few of them, that opened it up a little bit. Shots just weren’t falling early.
“Those are shots we want to take after collapsing the [defense] and kicking it out. Those are shots we all believe we can make and are willing to take.”
In a way, Tuesday was another example of Orlando’s lack of consistent 3-point shooting hurting them.
There were certain possessions that the Magic could’ve kept the ball moving to create different openings.
But not making the Grizzlies pay early for the open looks they were willing to concede allowed Memphis to maintain its defensive shape even when Orlando displayed good process offensively.
“It’s hard,” Banchero said. “Good teams like Memphis, that’s what they do. That’s how they game-plan. They force you into that. One of the keys is trying to get more ball movement. That’ll help move the defense, open it up.
“But sometimes at the start of the games, you want to take those shots. You want to step in and shoot those 3s. When they don’t go down, it’s hard.”
And until the Magic show they can consistently make those open looks, the Grizzlies’ strategy will be one opposing teams deploy against the Magic more often.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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