Orlando Magic: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Predictions

Considering the Magic are placed in a weakened Eastern Conference, improving upon their 29 wins of last season is certainly not out of the question. But one key factor, in addition to the aforementioned storylines, is the performance of their backcourt.

Entering his sixth season in the league, Evan Fournier again improved his overall production, averaging 17.2 points in 32.8 minutes per game. While he is solid overall from the field, whether Fournier can take the next step in his progress will be a large determinant in the Magic’s fortunes.

His backcourt teammate in Elfrid Payton’s progress will also be vitally important for the Magic. Like center Nikola Vucevic, Payton experienced a mix of starting and coming off the bench last season. But encouragingly for the Magic, Payton finished the season strongly by posting 14.1 points, 8.8 assists and 7.3 rebounds over his final 21 games.

But like a fellow teammate also entering this fourth season in Aaron Gordon, Payton’s outside shooting remains a concern, having recorded a just 28.9 percent shooting clip from long range for his career.

So while the Magic clearly have some promising pieces on board, questions still abound as to how far this current crop of players can develop. While the addition of some veteran presence this offseason will certainly help, the true growth of the team clearly lies in their young, up-and-coming talent.

Next: Top 10 candidates for the 2017-18 NBA Rookie of the Year Award

In looking ahead, while the Magic can improve upon their 29 wins, a return to the postseason seems a rather premature. If the Magic were able to reach 35 wins, that should certainly be considered a step in the right direction.