The fading Orlando Magic will look for better shooting and a better result when they visit the Washington Wizards on Friday.
The Magic (32-38) currently sit eighth in the Eastern Conference, one of four play-in tournament spots. But they are not there because of their long-distance shooting.
Orlando is the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team at 31.0 percent and the worst scoring team in the NBA at 104.6 points. And the offensive deficiencies have come into focus while losing eight of their last 11 games.
The most recent defeat was a 116-108 home setback to the Houston Rockets, when the Magic went 9 of 35 (25.7 percent) from 3-point range.
“You just focus on the process. I think if we weren’t getting the shots it would be something different,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We got the shots in Minnesota. We got the shots in New Orleans. We got the shots the last time we played against them. We got the shots in Cleveland.
“We’re getting the shots. The more we focus on the process of what we’re getting, you have to stick to that and trust your work and know they are going to drop at some point.”
Injuries have taken their toll on the Magic, who lost starting forward Moritz Wagner and defensive catalyst Jalen Suggs for the season with knee injuries.
Paolo Banchero has done his part for the Magic. Orlando’s star forward has been on a tear, averaging 31.0 points over his last six games. Franz Wagner has averaged 24.2 points per game.
Houston threw a zone at the Magic for much of Wednesday’s contest, daring Orlando to make outside shots.
“I thought we got some really good looks,” Franz Wagner said. “It’s unusual to play so much zone obviously. They play a unique zone as well. Some possessions stalled us out but a lot of possessions we just missed shots.”
Washington (15-53) is coming off a seven-game road trip — the longest for the franchise since 2002. They went 3-4 during their travels, but the main theme for the Wizards the rest of the way is lottery positioning and seeing what their young players can offer.
“Everybody who comes into our place … is going to get an opportunity to show what they can do and (have) a good infrastructure behind them,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said, according to the Washington Post. “I think that stuff’s really important for the growth of our organization.”
The Wizards lost 128-112 to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, with the chance at the No. 1 overall selection in June’s NBA Draft growing with every defeat.
Washington’s No. 2 overall pick last year, Alex Sarr, has emerged as a late NBA Rooke of the Year candidate. He had 22 points in the loss to the Jazz and has scored 19 points or more in his last four games.
“Obviously (Sarr is) making shots, but it’s more than that,” Keefe said. “He’s taking the right ones, taking with the flow of the game, reading the game well. He’s getting better and that’s what this is all about for us.”
Orlando won both earlier meetings with Washington, 121-94 on Nov. 10 and 110-90 on Feb. 23.
–Field Level Media
