Orlando Magic: Is the offense showing signs of life?

With the end of the regular season coming into focus, the offense of the Orlando Magic is finally showing signs of life.

An amazing thing happened for the Orlando Magic last year. After a disappointing first half of the season, they came back after the All-Star break and continued on some progress made beforehand to win 20 of their final 28 games to reach the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

Although this season looked like it was going to improve on this, so far we have been treated to a sense of deja vu. The Magic underwhelming before the All-Star break, holding onto the final playoff spot in the East only because nobody below them seemed capable of stringing some wins together themselves.

While that may be changing as a result of the Washington Wizards building some momentum, the Magic are doing exactly what they did last season and have looked a more competent outfit since the midseason break. Their 2-1 record since coming back doesn’t look like much, but below the surface there is more to like about what they’ve been doing over the last week.

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Whereas the run last season was a direct result of defensive-minded players like Khem Birch and Michael Carter-Williams making a difference, surprisingly it has been their offensive play recently that has given fans reason to believe major improvements are on the horizon. On the season so far, the Magic rank a lowly 26th in this category with an offensive rating of 106.0.

Before the break there were no signs that the Magic could become even average on that end. Many of their possessions still remain listless and empty. But there have been some changes, and more fluidity, to their play when trying to score.

Monday night’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, without Kyrie Irving, was huge if they have any designs of jumping into the seventh seed to avoid a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks in round one of the playoffs. More than that though, it was really entertaining to watch. With many Magic games being slogs to get through, this was a nice development.

The Magic traded buckets with a Nets unit that scorched the basket to the tune of 16 makes from 37 attempts from 3-point land. They also came from 19 points down early in the third quarter, scoring 74 points in the second half to erase the deficit and keep in touch with the Nets even after they continued making timely baskets.

Some of the Magic’s defending was poor, but on this occasion, the offense got them through. What has changed in a short span of time that is allowing the Magic to suddenly be able to lean into their scoring? Two things stick out, and the first is the introduction of James Ennis III. An under the radar pickup before the deadline, he has started the last two games, both wins, over the Nets and Atlanta Hawks.

He’s also chipped in with 13 and 12 points respectively. Ennis III isn’t a big time scorer. But he is somebody who is comfortable taking a shot. That has been seriously lacking in Orlando. The fact he is able to make a reasonable amount of them means that opponents have to account for him, so what we’re seeing is a more spaced court for the team to operate in.

Ennis III alone isn’t the reason for this purple patch in scoring. Terrence Ross came to life against the Nets, scoring nine quickfire points (all 3-pointers) to make their lead evaporate. He finished with 21 points, with most of the damage coming in the second half. He has not been himself for a while now, but to get Ross back as the sixth man candidate he was last season would be huge.

Defending hasn’t gone out the window altogether for the Orlando Magic, but it is not close to where it was last season. However they made some big plays down the stretch of their last two wins on that end (particularly Aaron Gordon’s ferocious block to seal the win over the Nets) to remind others that they are capable of getting back to a near elite roster before the regular season is over.

The play of Markelle Fultz during this span hasn’t been spoken about, particularly after he tailed off before the All-Star break. But he typically makes the right pass to open players, and his hard drives to the basket are what allow guys like Ennis III and Ross to get looks themselves. He also had a career-high 25 points versus the Nets too, as welcome sight.

Center Nikola Vucevic losing his cool when the Magic were down big versus the Nets seemed to light a fire under them too. All of this has combined to give the Orlando Magic more of an edge as they jockey for final playoff position.

They suddenly have periods where they can score, the defensive effort has never disappeared and the younger players continue to show flashes. The sense of deja vu around the organization looks set to continue then, only this time it is for the right reasons.