The Magic's home slide is a half-court scoring problem

The Orlando Magic are 2-4 and 0-3 at home, and the most recent loss, 108-97 to Boston, showed the pattern. The Magic can survive a rough shooting night when the ball moves and the paint opens. They cannot survive one when every possession ends with one creator trying to solve a set defense alone.

One creator, too many possessions

Franz Wagner played the whole night as the engine. He finished with 14 points and a career-high 12 assists, which tells you he was doing the passing work and the scoring work at once. That is a heavy load for a wing who is supposed to be one of several answers. Paolo Banchero missed his fourth straight game with a high-ankle sprain, and Jalen Suggs was also out, so Orlando lost its two best sources of pressure on a defense that is already set.

Boston knew where to send help. Wagner kept finding teammates, and the Magic still stalled below 100 points. Passing into a crowded lane is not the same as breaking a defense down. Orlando needs a second and third player who can attack a closeout and score before the help arrives.

What Boston did on the other end

Jayson Tatum scored 32 points. The Magic had no matching source of easy offense. When one team can lean on a star to get a bucket from a standing start and the other has to build every look from scratch, the gap shows up in the fourth quarter even when the game is close for three.

That is the part of the home slump that the standings hide. The defense has not been the only story. Orlando also gave up big totals in its other home losses, so a rebuilt rotation and a missing core are stressing both ends. The offense is the end that can change fastest, because it depends on who is on the floor and how they are used.

What to watch against Washington

The Wizards give Orlando a chance to fix process before results. Watch for three things. First, how often Wagner starts a possession as a passer rather than a scorer. Second, whether the Magic get into their sets before the shot clock is down to single digits. Third, whether the supporting guards and forwards take open shots without hesitating.

If Banchero and Suggs remain out, Jamahl-style heroics from the bench will not carry the team. The staff has to simplify the offense: early pick-and-roll, more cuts off the ball, and fewer isolations. Fans at the Kia Center have watched three straight losses. A win over Washington will not prove the offense is repaired, but a repeat of the stall will show the home problem is a scoring problem, and it has a clear place to start.