The talk throughout the offseason when it came to improving the Orlando Magic’s offense was about pace, in whatever way coach Steve Clifford wanted to define it.
The team finished last year 22nd in offensive rating, but an injection of speed from point guard Michael Carter-Williams helped push the team to eighth in the league from Jan. 31 to the end of the season. The Magic saw at that moment they had a good offensive team in them — at least for the regular season.
Orlando’s pace jumped to 99.4 possessions per 48 minutes (20th in the league) from 98.