Orlando Magic: Doomed To Start Slow?

Although the new schedule for the 2015-16 NBA regular season came out a couple of weeks back, the constant flow of free agency news has subdued that important information somewhat. Make no mistake, the schedule is important as well, as it allows us to pencil potentially tough road trips and softer sections of the schedule where this team can have some sustained joy.

You see for the Orlando Magic, a team just outside the playoff bubble, getting off to a fast start is important. But will it actually happen?

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The Magic are in an interesting position here. Whereas a contending team like the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers expects to win every night (even though they won’t) they likely have the roster to at least be competitive every time they step on the court. On the flip side of that, teams in complete rebuild mode already likely have their eye on next year’s lottery, with the winning of games secondary to that. Kind of sad from the fan’s perspective.

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But a team like the Orlando Magic, well they appear to be just outside the bubble of playoff hopefuls. That is to say, they do actually have a chance of making some noise this year if things break their way. They’ve been through the harsh realities of a long rebuilding project, and now look ready to step into the role of playoff team. Then the schedule comes out, and it puts a more realistic spin on things.

Now, I don’t want to be accused of being negative. Victor Oladipo impressed me so much this summer with Team USA I rethought his career trajectory. Nikola Vucevic likely could have been an All-Star by now if the league hadn’t changed the rules so that traditional centers didn’t necessarily have to be picked. Tobias Harris has signed a new long-term deal and could be the long-term solution on the wing. Certainly last season was his best in a Magic jersey, not overly surprising given that it was a contract year for him.

Apr 8, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) falls during an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

Incoming rookie Mario Hezonja has looked the part from the small glimpses we’ve seen from him so far, and Channing Frye is still on this team. There’s so much to like here, and really this team could be about to follow a similar path to that of the Milwaukee Bucks: continue to move in the right direction and break into the playoff picture, before making bigger moves to stay in that picture for a long time.

But I just can’t shake the potential start the Magic are about to have from my mind. Orlando’s first six games are as follows: vs. Washington Wizards, vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, at Chicago Bulls, at New Orleans Pelicans, at Houston Rockets and vs. Toronto Raptors. Now, that’s a small sample size for sure, but let’s be honest here, this team could realistically start the season 0-6 and be in a hole before they’ve even gotten out of the gate.

This worries me as I think for a young and growing team like the Magic, confidence is massively important. On top of that, this team started last season 0-4, and lost all of those games against opponents they will face again over this six-game stretch this year (Pelicans, Wizards, Raptors and Bulls). The longest win streak the team had last year was three games, which they did twice, and it would be nice to even go 2-4 over the course of that tough beginning.

It looks really unlikely though doesn’t it? Anthony Davis, a future MVP, revels in playing this team and destroyed the Magic single-handedly on opening night last year. His performance was so good I wasn’t even mad at how he took apart that incarnation of the Magic on both ends of the floor; it was a real virtuoso performance. The Thunder will be reinvigorated with the return of Kevin Durant and out to send a message early, while the Rockets are title contenders that improved this offseason.

RT @MagicInsider: Breaking down Magic's schedule: After tough start vs. likes of OKC and Houston, things lighten up. http://t.co/IdjV0Q7J9o
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) August 13, 2015

Which leaves only the Bulls, Wizards and Raptors, three teams who are just better than the Magic right now. Do I believe Orlando can sneak a win or two against those Eastern conference teams? Absolutely, and in fact that’s half the appeal of basketball — on any given night any team can pull off a win. It’s those games that intrigue me the most as well, as I think they’ll be a nice early barometer of where this team is early in the year.

A December loss away to the Raptors sticks out in my mind from last season, because the game was a 48-minute sample of how this team’s entire season went. The Magic played well and could have won the game. Except they got pegged back in the fourth quarter because of the more experienced talent of the Raptors, and they lost that game. Vucevic in particular gave the Raptors problems, but it still wasn’t enough.

I remember thinking even then that in order for this team to climb the rankings the next year, they would have to see some of those games out against better teams. Well we have now arrived at that moment, and the schedule has dictated that it will be hard to get some early traction and a couple of confidence-boosting wins.

Stranger things have happened however, and the optimist in me things the Magic can surprise people early on and go on to be one of the feel-good teams of the year. The kind that closes in on 40 wins and does so playing a loose and attractive brand of basketball.

But then the realist in me compares the Magic’s roster to that of their early opponents, and I’m grounded once more. This season is likely to start much the same as the last three, and that’s disheartening. 0-6 doesn’t look pretty no matter how you spin it.

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