Orlando Magic: 4 observations after first 4 games in 2018-19
By Luke Duffy
3. There’s still work to do offensively
For all the positives mentioned in the previous slide, offensively it has been a different story for Orlando. As of now, the Magic are one of only three teams with an offensive rating below 100 (99.8).
This ranks 28th in the league (ahead of only the Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder), and already the Magic are relying on a small number of players to get their points for them.
Vucevic and Fournier accounting for 36.3 of their 100 points per game so far. The distribution will become more even as the season progresses (at least that’s the hope), but already it would be nice to get more out of the recently paid Aaron Gordon, who is averaging 16 points per game.
We knew scoring would come less naturally to this roster before the season began, but it is not too much to ask to see their 3-point shooting percentage (32.5 percent, 23rd in the league) improve as well.
Worryingly though, it is unclear where these extra points will come from. Terrence Ross is averaging 9.8 points per game, right in line with his career average, while D.J. Augustin‘s 8.0 points per game need to make another jump.
In saying that, Augustin has started the season well, and is at his best as the facilitator he has tried to be in every game so far. The simple fact is scoring isn’t going to come naturally to this group this season, but seeing them struggle right out the gate isn’t ideal.