The Orlando Magic were projected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season. After splurging this offseason for Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane as part of a blockbuster deal, Orlando hoped their former shooting woes would change by adding one of the NBA's most efficient three-point shooters. However, through the early part of the regular season, the offensive efficiency has not improved much.
Bleacher Report published an article, determining the biggest problem for every NBA roster this season so far. The Magic's weakness: offense.
"Sound familiar," the article asked. "It should, considering the Magic set the modern-era benchmark for three-point futility by hitting a league-low 11.2 triples per game at a 31.8 percent clip last season. They're at just 10.3 makes on 30.7 percent shooting through their first seven games of 2025-26, an inexplicable decline. Desmond Bane has only hit 25.8 percent of his triples. With 4.4 attempts per game representing a huge dip from last year's 6.1, it's clear he contracted whatever long-range disease afflicted the rest of the Magic upon arrival."
The Magic's shooting woes were a problem two seasons ago, leading the front office making a big signing in the summer of 2024. Orlando signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that offseason to a hefty contract after shooting 40 percent from three-point range with the Denver Nuggets. His ascendance from role player off the bench to one of the better three-and-d guards in the NBA enticed Orlando enough to dish out $66 million over three years. However, Caldwell-Pope quickly regressed throughout his age-32 season and did not perform with the same efficiency in seasons past. His regression led them to make a splash for Bane, who has not performed as advertised so far.
"Orlando's offense is plodding and uninventive, which makes it difficult to generate many threes," the article added. "This is about more than a roster of dubious shooters. It's a systemic failure that produces almost impossibly inefficient stretches in half-court sets and is earning criticism from just about everyone in the video-breakdown sphere. The results have been marginally better of late, but the Magic still disappointed with a 3-4 start and have yet to show they can run a modern NBA offense."
The Magic still remain one of the stronger teams in the East. With Jonathan Isaac and Jalen Suggs coming back from injury, their defense doesn't seem to be a worry but the offensive efficiency needs to change for this team to make an impact.