Orlando Magic: The team nobody should want to face

The Orlando Magic are headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2012. Here’s why opponents should be eager to avoid them.

With one of their most impressive victories of the season on Sunday night, the Orlando Magic punched their ticket to the NBA’s postseason for the first time since 2012. As an added bonus, they also claimed their first division title since 2010.

We know that the highest the Magic will be able to finish is sixth, but depending on results they may also end up in the eighth and final spot. This means they will play one of the Philadelphia 76ers (third), Toronto Raptors (second) or Milwaukee Bucks (first) in the first round.

Obviously the Magic will go into any series as underdogs, and it may come to be that simply getting back to the playoffs was their Everest. This could be a quick exit, but even if this is the case, it won’t dampen the spirits of what has been an excellent season.

It was a season in which they found themselves 11 games under .500 at one point, only to stay the course and continue playing the brand of basketball head coach Steve Clifford preached to climb back out of the hole. That in itself is not getting talked about as much as it should.

But could the Magic actually cause problems for their eventual opponent in the first round? Let’s take a look at some of the ways they continue to be overlooked and underrated, and why this could result in them being the most tricky early playoff matchup for the contenders in the East.

It starts with form, and few teams have been hotter than the Magic, stretching all the way back to the All-Star break. From that point on, they ripped off 21 wins in 30 games starting on Jan. 31, not including their final game against the Charlotte Hornets. They did so with a defensive rating that was the best in the league for a period throughout the run.

The defending throughout the whole team was the key building block, but if you haven’t been watching the Magic’s games this season then you won’t be aware of some of the other aspects of their game that opponents will have to prepare for.

The Magic had been a horrendous 3-point shooting team for the duration of their rebuild before this season, but that changed with the addition of certain guys, as well as improvement from within. They are going to finish the season roughly 11th in 3-point percentage (35.6 percent), having ranked 28th and 29th in the previous two seasons. Here is a look at key players’ shooting percentages from deep:

• D.J. Augustin (42 percent)
• Terrence Ross (37.9 percent)
• Nikola Vucevic (36.4 percent)
• Aaron Gordon (34.9 percent)
• Wesley Iwundu (36.4 percent)

The list above makes for encouraging reading, and it is more likely than not that at least one of these players will be locked in from deep each time they step on the court during the postseason. They don’t call Ross “The Human Torch” for nothing, and Augustin has had a career year from deep.

To build on this, Jonathan Isaac is adding the corner 3 to his own personal arsenal, to the point where that play is run for him to get open in the corner, and he looks confident stepping into that shot. “3-and-D” players are all the rage in the league these days, and the Magic are doing their best to be a team-wide version of that.

That aforementioned defensive improvement was implemented by coach Clifford, but the players on the Magic’s roster allow this to be put into practice each night. It started with the drafting of Isaac in 2017, and they followed this up by selecting Mohamed Bamba (now injured) last year.

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They then went out and got Michael Carter-Williams to close out the season. This creates an ability to switch defensively, which disrupts opponents and has been a key part of the team’s revival. It was Carter-Williams who was on the court to finish off that playoff-clinching win over the Celtics, hounding everybody around him with his length. The Magic sure are going to need more than this to scare teams, but it does help.

Something else they’ve got going for them is their assist numbers as a team. On the year they rank fifth in assist percentage (63.4 percent), and to watch them play is to see a team that doesn’t mind making the extra pass to find the open man. Again, we’re talking about small areas where the Magic could have some success, but they are in the playoffs for a reason.

Perhaps the most useful tool at the Magic’s disposal, however, can’t even be quantified by numbers. Making the playoffs was the goal, what they worked all season for. They achieved this, and fans right now are ecstatic. This has been a successful season no matter what happens next.

As such, the organization will arrive with zero expectations, and hopefully, they’ll play accordingly: free and easy, enjoying the moment and taking in a playoff atmosphere. There’s more reason to feel confident about whichever opponent they’re matched up with too. Surprisingly, the Magic went 6-7 against the Bucks, Raptors and 76ers throughout the regular season.

Even more encouraging, they were 3-4 against these opponents before the All-Star break, just as they started on their fantastic run to make the playoffs. All three of these teams are obviously better than the Magic, and yet they have seemed to give the Raptors problems when they play each other. They split the season series 2-2.

The postseason is a different story obviously, but there should be modest hope that a 4-0 sweep could be avoided at least. It is the same scenario with the 76ers, as the Magic split the season series with them 2-2 as well. Of the three opponents the Magic could face, the Sixers seem the least sure of what they are, wobbling somewhat down the stretch.

The Magic, on the other hand, come in with a crystal clear identity having won 10 of their last 12 games, a belief that they are never totally out of a game and quality players to implement a game plan. Just imagine how crazy the Amway Center would get if they managed to win even one game. As a lower-seeded team in the first round, it doesn’t get much better than that and it makes them dangerous.

Whoever they get drawn with in round one will have to take them seriously. They’ve got the form, the cohesion between head coach and players and impressive numbers in statistical categories that matter. They’re just happy to be there too. The Orlando Magic are going to be a tricky team to play, even if they’ll be heavy underdogs in the first round.