By SAM GARDNER
FOXSportsFlorida.com Magic Writer
The Magic seem to finally have broken out of their offensive doldrums, but don't get too excited about Orlando's apparent turnaround just yet.
The numbers of the past two games look good at first glance. Between Friday's 117-105 loss to the Jazz and Sunday's 94-85 victory over the Clippers, Orlando shot 55.1 percent on two-point shots and 47.7 percent overall.
Not too bad, right? Wrong.
A closer look at the numbers reveals that the Magic shot an abysmal 28 percent (7 of 25) on jumpers from 16 to 23 feet, on top of shooting 15 of 48 from three-point range.
That's pretty much in line with their numbers since a 111-100 home victory over the Cavaliers on Nov. 26. The Magic are 5-4 since then, hitting just 34.2 percent of their shots from 16 feet or beyond (115 of 336).
When they're not making jump shots, the Magic aren't a championship contender -- they might not even be a Top 5 team in the East -- and for a team whose offense is predicated on making jumpers, and making lots of them, these numbers are pretty distressing.
What is encouraging is that Orlando's next game is against the Denver Nuggets, a team that gave up 129 points to the Knicks on Sunday. And 116 points to Toronto last Friday. And 105 points to Boston last Wednesday.
Over their past eight games, the Nuggets have given up 111 points a night and allowed teams to shoot better than 40 percent on long twos and three-pointers. Not coincidentally, they've lost three of their past four.
Denver's M.O. is to outscore opponents, not lock them down, and that's just fine with the Magic. If Orlando is going to break out of its shooting slump, it should be Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
Feeding the ball to Dwight Howard and watching him create isn't an efficient offensive strategy for the Magic, and they don't have a reliable ball handler who can consistently create and hit shots.
The Magic need to hit open jumpers so they can get back to their bread and butter, the inside-out game, and if they haven't found their stroke by Saturday night against Philadelphia, it might get worse before it gets better.
A four-game stretch against Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio and Boston is looming, and 34-percent shooting on long jumpers and threes just won't cut it against that kind of competition.
Be sure to follow @FSMagic on Twitter for Magic news, analysis and more all season long!
