Hoops Habit
Fansided

3 reasons Orlando Magic won’t make the 2019 NBA Playoffs

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 5: Evan Fournier #10, Aaron Gordon #00 and D.J. Augustin #14 of the Orlando Magic shake hands during a preseason game against Flamengo at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on October 5, 2018. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 5: Evan Fournier #10, Aaron Gordon #00 and D.J. Augustin #14 of the Orlando Magic shake hands during a preseason game against Flamengo at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on October 5, 2018. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
(Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Other organizations are just better

One of the most common pitfalls for fans is looking at the team they support and talking themselves into believing that the product they are watching is better than what is actually in front of them.

This happens because fans spend so much time looking at the team they support, and not the competition, that best-case scenarios develop at an accelerated pace. The feeling around the Magic is no different.

To look at them now, you could think any and all of the following:

  • Why can’t Aaron Gordon be an All-Star?
  • Mo Bamba could be Rookie of the Year with that shooting touch and defensive ability.
  • Isaac has really added a lot of muscle this offseason, he’s going to make a huge leap.
  • Jonathon Simmons will be focused, he’s the veteran leader Orlando needs.
  • Terrence Ross for Sixth Man of the Year, anyone?

We could go on, but you get the point. There is absolutely nothing stopping one or two of the above from coming to fruition. Gordon could very well be a first-time All-Star, and Simmons has young, defensive-minded guys around him that he should mesh well with.

But everything won’t go perfectly for Orlando, because it never does for any team in any sport. As well as this, and more importantly, we have to remember that fans of every other team in the league are thinking the same way.

The sad reality, however, is that most of those organizations are just better than Orlando right now. It is easy to say the Magic could make the playoffs, but it is much harder to make the case they’re better than at least seven other teams in the Eastern Conference.

That’s why the playoffs are probably not in the cards for this coming season. So much would have to go right in Orlando, which has not been the case this decade — with even more unforeseen pitfalls for the other teams around them also occurring — to make the postseason a reality.

Home/Orlando Magic