PHILADELPHIA -- One of several things that stood out about the Orlando Magic in the month of January was their 3-point shooting.
They made 38.1 percent of their 3-pointers on 31.7 attempts per contest.
This is quite significant, as it was the first time in franchise history that they shot at least 38 percent from downtown in a full month with an average of over 30 3-point attempts.
In March 2020, they shot 39.1 percent from 3-point land on 31.2 attempts. However, that was the month, as you probably recall, the NBA had to pause the season because of the pandemic. As a result, Orlando only played five games that month.
Prior to this month, the last time the Magic shot 38-plus percent in a month with more than seven games played was in February of the 2013-14 season when they shot 39 percent. They averaged just 17.1 attempts, though.
The Magic are an improved outside shooting team largely because all their bigs can space the floor, which is not the case for most teams.
Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba, Moe Wagner, and Bol Bol are among the league’s best 3-point shooting big men.
In January, Bamba shot 50 percent from 3-point distance on 14 attempts; Carter 38.3 percent on 47 attempts; Moe Wagner 36.1 percent on 36 attempts; and while Bol struggled with his long-range shooting this month, going 0-of-8, prior to this month he was shooting nearly 39 percent from deep.
“It helps a ton,” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley said recently. “Defenses play our guys differently. You have teams that are in drops. Their bigs are down the floor and our bigs having the ability to either roll or pop, which helps the game out for our spacing and our guys being able to attack the basket in order to spray out for those feet-set, knock-down threes.”
For the season, Orlando is the only team in the league that has three centers averaging more than two 3-point attempts per contest. Carter and Moe Wagner are averaging 3.4 and 3.2, respectively, while Bamba is averaging 2.6. Bol is averaging 1.6 3-point attempts.
Not many players in January shot the ball better from deep than both Gary Harris and Franz Wagner. Harris shot 48.3 percent from distance on 58 attempts. The only players who shot it better with at least that many attempts this month were Sacramento’s Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes, Memphis’ Desmond Bane, and Philadelphia’s Georges Niang. Franz, meanwhile, shot 44.6 percent on 65 attempts.
In January, the Magic shot a league-best 46.3 percent from 20 to 24 feet away from the basket. One of the reasons for this is that they are creating more open looks from the 3-point corners.
Prior to Jan. 1, Orlando shot 39.9 percent from the 3-point corners on 6.3 attempts. Since then, they have shot 42.2 percent on 6.9 attempts.
Ball movement and limiting turnovers are the most important elements to a smooth offense. In their wins of late, these have been Magic strengths. Also key is getting stops on the defensive end, which helps teams get out and run for easy transition baskets.
In the comeback victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando committed just 10 turnovers, scored 28 fast break points, and scored 20 points off the Sixers’ 19 turnovers. Those are some of the stats that enabled the Magic to overcome a 21-point first-quarter deficit.
“It goes back to just believing, understanding that as long as we believe and continue to fight every night, we give ourselves a chance against any team in this league,” said Markelle Fultz, who had 12 points, 10 assists, four steals, and zero turnovers in his first game as an opponent in Philadelphia. “We work for that. We all put in the work. We should believe that. We just have to continue to build, continue to get better every day and win the day.”