Oftentimes as a fan of a team that has never really tasted sustained success, you can talk yourself out of believing the hype surrounding the team you call yours. You do this for a number of reasons, including being able to tell others you told them so when it all falls apart, not getting your hopes up and saving yourself from what you’re sure will be inevitable heartbreak down the road.
Now, I have not taken such an extreme stance on this current iteration of the Orlando Magic, but I’ve certainly veered on the side of caution.
To be fair I’ve done this for some of the reasons mentioned above, most notably so I don’t get my hopes up if this team makes a nice start to the season. On top of that though, the Eastern Conference figures to be better this year as well, with teams like the Miami Heat and even New York Knicks having designs on making the playoffs.
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Which is to say it’ll be even tougher for a young Magic team to string the kind of regular season together that would get them back to the postseason.
I don’t think this team will make the playoffs this season, and my beliefs on that likely won’t change before opening night. However, I was listening to Bill Simmons’ new podcast a couple of days back, and some of the things he said about the Magic threw me a little.
Now, as far back as last summer Simmons was speaking about how the Magic were an interesting roster and one to keep an eye on. Last season saw growth as well no question.
It’s also not like Simmons’ voice is the be all and end all when it comes to basketball, and he’s made many wrong predictions during his time as a sports journalist. But then I took a look at that roster again, and for once I allowed myself to think about the best case scenario unfolding here.
It’s obviously too early to say, and during their preseason run of games so far the team is 3-2, not that that really means much anyway.
But this roster is deeper than people realize, and this year could finally be the time when we see it all kind of come together. I’ve felt since day one that Victor Oladipo would always be best suited as the second best player on a playoff team, but this summer he looked great for Team USA. Whether or not he morphs into a true star, he’s going to take a leap of sorts this season.
That’s an encouraging place to start.
On top of that, this team may already have it’s star in Nikola Vucevic. Although this is a guard-dominated league these days, the guy put up 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds last season. Offensively he’s already a polished big man, and defensively he figures to get a boost from playing under new head coach Scott Skiles. In fact, Skiles may be the real key to success here.
He has spoken already about wanting this to be a more defensive minded team, and we’ve seen signs of this already during the preseason.
For a team that was losing contests by an average of 5.7 points last season, that mentality could prove to be huge. That’s not a massive number to make up, and it will start with getting stops on the defensive end. You only had to watch the team last year to see them be competitive for three quarters most nights, before tailing off in the fourth.
Skiles is on a mission to keep that defensive intensity for 48 minutes, and it figures to be a big key to potential success here.
This renewed focus on that end has seen the likes of Devyn Marble get a chance during the preseason run, and the defensive minded guard has taken his opportunity. In the recent win over the Houston Rockets he led the team in scoring with 21 points, while showing the zest on the other end of the court that he was known for coming out of college.
Should he make the rotation once the regular season begins, he will be another weapon for Skiles to call upon.
Really it is that versatility that will help the Magic win some extra games this year. In Oladipo, Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, Tobias Harris, Mario Hezonja, Aaron Gordon and Channing Frye, this team has a starting five and some bench punch that rivals other teams in this league. Adding C.J. Watson and Evan Fournier to that group only makes it look better, albeit very young.
This team has the worst record in the entire league since Dwight Howard left the team though (68-178) and that has to change at some point, right?
Which is why now is the time to get excited here, because it feels like the corner has finally be turned with this group. They allowed 105.2 points per 100 possessions last season, good for 24th in the league in that category. Their bench was also the worst in the entire NBA in offensive efficiency (giving the team 28.4 ppg) and defensive efficiency (a really poor minus-11.3).
That all makes for some terrible reading, but with the best head coach this team has had since Stan Van Gundy and a rapidly improving roster, things figure to only get better from here on out.
Payton had an at times great first year, leading all rookies with 6.5 assists per game. When you consider he’s now playing under his third head coach in just over 12 months, it’s pretty amazing he found any consistency at all with the team. Gordon missed two months of his first season with a broken foot, and already during the preseason that trademark energy has been apparent.
He’ll look to add a more reliable jump shot as well but that does not seem beyond him.
Frye is a bit of a question mark, and in truth may be moved before the deadline. His first season with the team did not go too well, but really his somewhat unique talents are hard to plug in here. He stretches the floor for his teammates and can hit three pointers regularly.
Only defenders know this and can sag off of the likes of Gordon and Payton, who can’t shoot very well at all away from the basket, to follow him out to the three point line.
The reality is he can’t get any worse for this team, and is a veteran voice on a team that needs them. Still though, if he is moved, it will be for the kind of pieces this team will use properly.
Remember, this is a team now that is under the salary cap as it stands and has no need to get involved in deals it won’t quickly benefit from, which is why any deal involving Frye will likely equal an immediate impact on the Magic’s team as well.
It’s understandable that people still don’t think much of this team, and the truth is even I don’t see a playoff run this season. But these are the kind of expectations that need to begin to be embraced around this team now. They have been bad for longer than they should have been, and now look to have the players in place to actually make a little noise.
I’m not asking you to believe everything Bill Simmons says either, but I think he’s talking some sense on this one. We have an interesting, “I’ll watch them on League Pass”-worthy team here.
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