The Orlando Magic have the opportunity this season to change a loser’s narrative. Let’s take a look at five big goals for them going into this season.
As currently constructed, this is the best roster the Orlando Magic have rolled out since the Dwight Howard years. Does this mean they have the pieces to make a playoff run this season? Some people agree, while others don’t. In fact, most don’t.
Members of the NBA media think that the Magic are a year or two away. Yes, they have a solid depth of young talent in guys like Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba and Jerian Grant. However, this talent is untested and inexperienced in winning.
The Magic have young veterans in Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic, Jonathon Simmons and Terrence Ross who can all score and play their role, but they’re also inexperienced in deep playoff runs and winning cultures. While Simmons played for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs, he was mostly a bench player and was only there off-and-on for a year and a half.
All of this doesn’t bode well for a potential playoff run in 2018-19, even with a weakened Eastern Conference.
However, with a new head coach in Steve Clifford, a forming defensive identity and solid chemistry throughout the squad, this team is headed in the right direction and could surprise some people.
They have a similar makeup to the 2017-18 Indiana Pacers, who were projected to be the 26th-best team in the league by ESPN last summer and ended up almost taking LeBron James out of playoffs in round one. The irony is that the Magic have the same ESPN ranking this summer.
Does anyone expect them to be the fifth seed in the East this year? No, as they shouldn’t.
However, this season could be a step in the right direction for Orlando and be part one of changing bottom-feeders narrative — one they have had now for most of this decade.
Lets take a look at five goals for the Magic in 2018-19.