Retour
The Orlando Magic got back on track during their three-game road-trip going 2-1 with wins against the defending champion New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.
As it stands, the Magic are 2-3 in the East standings. While it's still way too early to make any firm conclusions, here are a few notable statistics from their first week of 2026-27.
Orlando's shooting remains a mystery night-to-night. But the ball is poppin'!
It has assisted on 71.3 percent of made field goals through five games, the second-best mark only behind the Atlanta Hawks (73.6). Paolo Banchero -- when he was healthy -- Franz Wagner and Anthony Black have been the three-biggest catalysts, although Jase Richardson, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane have all shown positive signs as passers.
The Magic's new offense looks more layered; the actions also make more sense, and the players look more confident and active. Shots haven't always dropped, but the process looks cleaner.
The Magic's defensive rebounding has been quite poor. Their 63.9 defensive rebound rate is the third-worst in the NBA, surrendering 13.5 offensive rebounds (25th) and 14.7 second-chance points per 100 (16th).
They have been out-rebounded in all but one of their five contests, averaging a rebound differential of minus-6.8. They also aren't crashing the offensive glass with much ferocity, sporting the fourth-worst offensive rebounding rate so far.
It's still very early. But this is an area of concern, especially since Orlando's generally been a very good team on the backboards.
By many accounts, the Magic have been arguably the worst transition offense in the NBA.
The Magic have tallied just 8.8 fastbreak points per 100 possessions, the third-fewest in the NBA. That's better than only the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz. Beyond that, they have the second-lowest transition frequency in the NBA (11.7 percent), the worst transition points per play, and the third-fewest points added, per Cleaning The Glass.
For an offense that's struggled to consistently produce good halfcourt offense, that's an issue. One way to mitigate that is to seek easy looks in transition. The Magic haven't gotten many stops, as they rank No. 25 in defense and steals per possession. So they haven't always had those opportunities in live-ball situations.
I expect those marks improve under Sweeney; they will improve with more time in his scheme. But they must find a way to be 1.) more disruptive and 2.) way more efficient in the open floor.