THE CONTEXT

That ranked last in the league and was down from 104.6 points per 100 possessions (19th) before the break. That drop of six points per 100 possessions was the league's biggest post-break drop in offensive efficiency and the fourth biggest drop in the 20 full (82-game) seasons since 1996-97.

The Magic didn't get to the line as often or grab as many offensive rebounds after the break as they did before it. But they weren't particularly good at those things in the first place.

Shooting is the most important thing in this league and the area in which the Magic fell off most last season. Before the All-Star break, they ranked 14th in effective field goal percentage at 52.0 percent (slightly below the league average of 52.1 percent). After the break, they ranked 29th in effective field goal percentage at 49.2 percent (with the league average climbing a tick to 52.2 percent).

The Magic rotation player with the best effective field goal percentage before the break (54.7 percent) was Elfrid Payton, who was sent to Phoenix at the deadline. But Payton's minutes and shots were absorbed by D.J. Augustin and Shelvin Mack, who combined for an even better effective field goal percentage after the break (54.9 percent).

More of an issue was the absence of Evan Fournier for 17 of the Magic's 25 post-break games. Fournier's effective field goal percentage was a little lower than Payton's, but still better than the league average. He offered both spacing and additional playmaking, and the Magic offense was at its best (106.2 points scored per 100 possessions) with Fournier on the floor last season.