Orlando Magic: 2017-18 NBA season preview
By Simon Smith
With an emerging young core of talent, and a new front office in place, let’s take a look at what’s in store for the Orlando Magic in season 2017-18.
The 2016-17 NBA season was certainly one to forget for the Orlando Magic. For the fourth consecutive season, the Magic missed out on the postseason action despite competing in a relatively weak Eastern Conference.
Having made some noise last summer with a number of moves, the Magic’s front office unfortunately came up short, with the team registering just 29 wins for the season. The addition of Serge Ibaka in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder was short-lived, as he was dealt away midseason to the Toronto Raptors.
Another significant addition, Bismack Biyombo, certainly failed to live up to the four-year, $64 million deal bestowed to him by the front office. Some other free agent signings in Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin also failed to live up to expectations.
As a result, it was no surprise that general manager Rob Hennigan was replaced in the offseason by Jeff Weltman, who previously worked in the front office of the Toronto Raptors.
While the Magic floundered off the court, they were equally as egregious on the court.
Finishing 29th in the league for 3-point percentage, 28th in field goal percentage, and 24th in free throw percentage would seemingly indicate that the only way is up for the Magic on the offensive end of the floor.
Unfortunately, the Magic also struggled mightily at the defensive end, giving up 115 or more points on 25 occasions. During this span, the Magic posted a 4-21 record.
Entering his second season as Magic head coach, Frank Vogel is going to have his work cut of for him in the 2017-18 season.
2016-17 Vitals
29-53, 5th in Southeast Division, 13th in Eastern Conference
101.1 PPG (27th)/107.6 OPP PPG (22nd)
101.2 Offensive Rating (29th)/108.0 Defensive Rating (24th)
Team Leaders
Scoring: Evan Fournier, 17.2 PPG
Rebounding: Nikola Vucevic, 10.4 RPG
Assists: Elfrid Payton, 6.5 APG
Steals: Terrence Ross, 1.4 SPG
Blocks: Serge Ibaka, 1.6 BPG