3 reasons Orlando Magic won’t make the 2019 NBA Playoffs
By Luke Duffy
1. They’re inexperienced
The most obvious reason of all here, the Orlando Magic are simply too young and too inexperienced to make it to the playoffs this season. There are steps that must be taken to get there, and this roster has gone through none of them together yet.
In Gordon, Isaac and Bamba, the Magic have their core for the future pretty much in place. The only change that may occur here is either the addition of a point guard through draft or trade, or the moving of one of Gordon or Isaac because they both work best as power forwards.
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But if we take it that this is the core they want to build around, and as of now that is the case, then the oldest is Gordon at 23. Isaac is 21, with Bamba being the youngest of the trio at 20. If these are the players that are leading your charge, they need to gain more experience.
Even the veterans don’t have a lot of experience either. Nikola Vucevic appeared in one playoff game for the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2012. He was on the court for three minutes.
Evan Fournier has appeared in four playoff games, so too has Simmons. Ross is their most accomplished postseason player, appearing in 31 playoff contests for a Toronto Raptors outfit that got better every season he was there. He started in 11 of those games too.
Technically, Timofey Mozgov is their go-to guy here, as he won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But it is unclear if he will have any role in Orlando other than spending time in the locker room with the younger guys and letting them hold his championship ring.
Such a lack of postseason success, or experience in even getting to that point, is the biggest obstacle holding the Magic back from getting there in 2018-19.
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That’s absolutely fine; again, these are the checkpoints that must be passed in order to get back to the playoffs. Just don’t be surprised when they come up short again this year before heading back to the NBA Draft Lottery for what will hopefully be the last time.