Orlando Magic: What the 2018-19 lineups could look like
By Chris Murch
It seems like the Orlando Magic’s lineups will involve a lot of experimentation in 2018-19. Here is what these lineups could look like next season.
The Orlando Magic are in an interesting place this season. They have a lot of young talent, but that talent most likely won’t translate to the playoffs. They have some older players with experience, but little playoff experience. The good news is the Magic can develop their young talent by playing them hearty minutes and getting them experience, all while still being in position for high draft picks.
Odds Shark has Orlando’s over/under for total wins next season set at 31.5, which ranks them as the 24th best team in the league out of 30 and puts them 11th in the Eastern Conference. Considering they didn’t really upgrade at the point guard position, something they desperately needed to do, and didn’t acquire any big name free-agents, this isn’t surprising.
I expect the Magic to win around 32-35 games — no playoffs, but promise. Hopefully the development of Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba takes root and Aaron Gordon continues to improve. Besides that, the team can go in many different directions. New Magic head coach Steve Clifford will have a field day in trying out new lineups and utilizing these players in different ways.
Here’s how the lineups could take form, breaking them down into four categories: offense, defense, best second unit and the wild card.