Orlando Magic: 5 goals for Mohamed Bamba’s rookie season

4. Appear in 60 games

Lottery picks each year, especially the highest ones, are usually lauded as potential franchise saviors for struggling organizations. That’s why the expectation they will come in and automatically start and have a big influence on the team is usually wide of the mark.

Only the very best players hit the ground running like this, and even they have their struggles. Roadblocks like the rookie wall and a headstrong head coach who doesn’t believe in turning youngsters free are both real problems that incoming players face.

This is a potential problem for Bamba because Clifford, in his first year in Orlando, will be looking to ensure his job is secure for the coming seasons by playing it safe with some of his lineups. Nothing stifles growth quite like a coach who wants to hold onto his job.

So don’t be surprised if Clifford places more trust in veterans like D.J. Augustin and Jonathon Simmons, at least initially. With that being said, there’s no reason why Bamba can’t play in every game for the Magic.

This brings up another important aspect of this goal. If he can surpass the figure above, it will mean he will have stayed largely healthy for the season. Given that Isaac only played 27 games because of injury last season, this would be a good place to start.

The 60-game barrier is, in theory, an achievable one, so we’ll add in a bonus objective here and that is to start at least 15 games for Orlando. This is more likely to happen at the turn of the year, when the Magic are likely falling down the pecking order.

At that point his defensive ability may be too hard to ignore, and the planning for the following season is already beginning. Mostly though, this is about staying healthy and on the court, which leads us to our next goal.