Orlando Magic: 5 New Year’s resolutions for this team

3. Increase their pace

This may seem strange to consider, especially with the Magic playing with the sixth-highest pace (101.8) in the league right now. But we saw that when the team gets out and runs earlier in the season, most teams can’t compete with that.

It’s acceptable to play at a slower pace on the second night of a back-to-back or coming to the end of a long road trip, but at home after a couple days of rest, this team should come out sprinting, forcing opponents to play at the tempo they dictate.

We saw the Magic beat teams this way earlier in the season, and they just seem more capable of scoring when their opponents are scrambling back into positions. Like this:

This leads to easier buckets, which will in turn will see their offensive rating increase. Point guard Elfrid Payton has been solid for the team this year, nothing more. He struggles with the pieces around him when the team goes into their half-court sets and walk the ball up the court. Once more, injuries have hampered them in this area too.

But when Payton bursts up the court, his high basketball IQ and ability to spot a pass open everything up for this team.

So while pace is one area where there is little to complain about, turning it up another level could see this team compete in far more games than we’ve seen recently.