The Orlando Magic have regressed to the mean after early-season upsets of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. At 2-4, the Magic sit 11th in the standings, and shooting has once again surfaced as the culprit for the initial struggles.

Against the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks, the Magic managed just 21 converted three-pointers on a disconcerting 86 attempts (just 24.4 percent).

Last in points per game (100.6), last in offensive rating, and last in effective field goal percentage (46 percent) should ring the alarms on a team that targeted Trae Young as its perimeter scoring option before settling for pterodactyl shot-blocker, Mo Bamba.

The Magic have a scoring problem and its 12th rated defensive unit hasn’t yet reached an elite level, prohibiting any chance of regular season success.

And yet, the Magic are improved. Losses to the Bucks and Kings, respectively, hurt the win/loss column but make sense on paper. At 7-0, with the league’s 4th fastest pace, seventh-rated offense, and second-best defense, the Bucks have buzz-sawed their way through the competition.

The Kings are the third fastest team in the NBA with the seventh highest scoring offense (seventh!) and the Magic held the young unit to just 107 points in Tuesday night’s loss, well below their early season average of 117 points per game.

In addition, the Magic’s bench has been downright impressive through the first six games. In an ever growing sample size, a unit comprised of Jerian Grant, Terrence Ross, Jonathan Simmons, Aaron Gordon and Mo Bamba have held opponents to an offensive rating of just 94.1.

The Magic’s problems on the perimeter were well diagnosed in an offseason that saw the Magic overlook scoring options in Dennis Schroeder and Isaiah Thomas and, instead, target the defensive-minded Bamba and Jerian Grant. Sure, that mid-level money may have fetched some space creating options, but the Magic will shoot better with or without them. The Magic generated positive looks against the Kings, and simply didn’t convert. However, the sample size is growing ever larger, as the Magic have shot 41 percent from the field or worse in four of their opening six contests.

Three-point efficiency hasn’t been the major concern. The Magic haven’t broken into the paint, accruing only 42 points in the paint per game, good for 27th in the league. Converting 30.5 percent of their three-point attempts in addition to their troubles in the painted area limit the potential for even mediocre offensive success.

In addition, the Magic haven’t yet abandoned the mid-range game along with the rest of the NBA. The Magic have taken nearly as many three-pointers (169) as shots at or near the rim (202), but they have also taken 265 shots between five feet and the three-point line. This is the main source of concern. Limiting these inefficient shots and instead driving to the lane and forcing contact will initiate more scoring opportunities for a unit that draws the third fewest fouls in the NBA.

The Orlando Magic’s defense continues to improve as Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba find their comfort zone. Terrence Ross, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic need to take ownership of the Magic’s offensive struggles and create more efficient looks for the unit by driving to the basket. The three-point shots will fall at a better clip as the Magic become more comfortable and enjoy deep success as they had against the Trailblazers, but the mid-range looks and iso-heavy sets will keep the Magic from competing for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. As the flow of offense continues to improve under head coach Steve Clifford, this unit will earn victories in the coming weeks as the schedule lightens up against the Cavaliers, Pistons, Wizards (2x), and Knicks. Expect the Magic to right the ship and return to the dark horse conversation for the playoffs.

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