Orlando Magic no longer a freely 3-point shooting team

The Orlando Magic have shifted away from launching nearly unlimited 3-pointers, cutting their attempts from behind the arc in half so far this season.

Over their first seven games, the Magic have thrown up only 13.6 3-point attempts per game, well down from the 27 launches they averaged in the 66-game 2011-12 season. With point guard Jameer Nelson perhaps returning to the lineup against the Detroit Pistons Friday, that has a chance to change.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Magic coach Jacque Vaughn is less concerned with shot distance than with quality. Vaughn tells Robbins that he's never said "we want to shoot a certain amount of threes or we don't want to shoot a certain amount of threes. We want to shoot good, open shots."

If Nelson does return to the lineup, he could boost the stats somewhat. The 30-year-old point guard has averaged three shots per game from beyond the arc over his career.