Orlando Magic: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season
By Luke Duffy
1. Defensive potential
The obvious choice here, but the Magic have the chance to make defending a joy to watch every night they play. Given that we live in an age of endless 3-pointers and highlight dunks that are on social media seconds after they happen, that would be no mean feat.
If we’re losing the run of ourselves here, Orlando could flirt with being a top-five organization in this category as soon as this coming season. The blend of Clifford, Isaac, Bamba, Simmons and even Gordon seems too perfect.
A few takeaways from Orlando Magic Media Day:
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 25, 2018
1. The entire organization has Aaron Gordon's back. They all support him as the face of the franchise, even if no one directly said it.
2. Steve Clifford is going to have them play 5-on-5 a lot. He believes that best for this group.
In reality, they may have to settle for somewhere between 10-15, but that will be enough to win a few games that they wouldn’t have before. More than that, it will give them a sense of identity as well, something that has been sorely lacking for a long time now.
To watch as these young players build that identity by shutting out and deflating their opponents is going to be so much fun, especially when they do so against teams viewed as better than Orlando.
Next. Ranking every NBA team's best player in 2018-19. dark
If all of this goes to plan, then by this time next year, the next five reasons to be excited about this Orlando Magic team are going to be far more exciting. They just need to make sure they build on their foundations properly this season, starting with all of the above.