201718storylines

Josh Cohen

The Magic are a very complex defensive team. They rank second in the league in opponent 3-point percentage (31.7 percent) and fourth in opponent turnovers (16.5 per game). However, they also rank last in defending the paint (51.7 points) and 24th in opponent second chance points (13.8).

Rebounding has been an issue for this team in the early portion of the season, which is surprising because they ranked in the top 10 after the All-Star break in this category in 2016-17. Opponents are currently averaging 11.5 offensive rebounds against Orlando.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Mixed Defensive Results

Aaron Gordon is making a strong early case to win the Most Improved Player Award, and it’s mostly because of his extraordinarily enhanced 3-point shooting. Entering Monday’s action, Gordon ranked first in the NBA in 3-point percentage (55.3 percent) with a minimum of 10 attempts.

The continuity he and Elfrid Payton have is quite remarkable. Gordon is shooting 7-of-8 from the field this season when the pass was delivered by Payton. It’s not just alley-oops, either, though that has become a staple between the pair.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Is Aaron Gordon NBA's Most Improved Player?

You knew eventually Terrence Ross would snap out of his shooting struggles. Over the last three games, Ross is shooting 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from 3-point range.

Perhaps most praiseworthy about Ross is that he didn’t let tough shooting nights affect his confidence or composure. As all good shooters are supposed to do, he just kept shooting.

Ross, who the Magic acquired from the Raptors right before last season’s All-Star break, has also played outstanding defense this season. Opponents are shooting just 38.5 percent from the field when he is the closest defender.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Terrence Ross Back in Rhythm

When Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin have both been out of the lineup this season, the Magic have been outscored by a combined 56 points and have shot 40.9 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range.

Payton’s strengths coincide with how the Magic want to play and how they are most effective. A top-flight controller in an up-tempo offense and a catalyst in transition because of his excellent court vision and instincts, E.P. makes everything easier for his teammates.

Payton returned following an eight-game absence but sat out in Denver after feeling some soreness in his hamstring. Augustin has been out since injuring his hamstring in Memphis on Nov. 1.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Elfrid Payton Makes Big Difference

OrlandoMagic.com's Josh Cohen assesses the top five storylines from the past week. Click through this slideshow for details.

Elfrid Payton (hamstring) returned following an eight-game absence and flirted with a triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in Wednesday’s win over the Knicks. Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon all scored over 20 points.

The Magic sank 13 3-pointers and outscored the Suns by 13 in the third quarter to cruise to a victory in Phoenix. Gordon posted 22 points and Terrence Ross had his best offensive performance this season with 17 points.

With Payton sitting out in Denver after re-aggravating his hamstring, the Magic couldn’t keep pace with the scorching hot Nuggets. Marreese Speights led Orlando with 19 points off the bench.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Recapping the Week

It’s extremely premature to come to any conclusions or sustainable judgments, but the 2017 rookie class has a chance to be one of the best in NBA history. Outside of a few players that are dealing with injury issues (like Markelle Fultz), we have seen many of these youngsters play significant roles for their respective teams.

The Magic’s 20-year-old prodigy, Jonathan Isaac, has shown flashes of what he can develop into as he blossoms. Particularly on defense where his length, athleticism and lateral quickness causes problems for opponents, Isaac has the physical tools and passion to evolve into one of the premier stoppers in the league.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Jonathan Isaac Showing Flashes

The Magic just couldn’t play at their preferred pace the last two games against the Bulls and Celtics without their top two point guards. In the first eight games when Orlando went 6-2, the Magic ranked third in the league in pace and fifth in player impact estimate (PIE). In these last two games – both lopsided losses – Orlando’s pace and PIE dropped substantially.

Frank Vogel experimented with Jonathon Simmons as the starting point guard against Boston and defensively he did an admirable job against Kyrie Irving, who was limited to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor.

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Magic's Top Storylines: Injuries Hinder Magic's Pace

Elfrid Payton hasn’t been the only Magic point guard to go down with a hamstring injury. D.J. Augustin strained his hamstring in Memphis when he landed awkwardly after converting on a breakaway layup. There’s still no timetable for his return.

Augustin, who is the Magic’s most reliable 3-point shooting point guard, did a solid job in a starting role filling in for the injured Payton. He led Orlando to a 5-1 record during that stretch.

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Magic's Top Storylines: D.J. Augustin's Hamstring Injury

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Due to Tropical Storm Nicole, the NBA has announced that the Dallas Mavericks at Orlando Magic game on Wednesday, November 9 will tip-off at 5:30 PM. Amway Center doors open at 4:30 PM.