Orlando Magic: 5 takeaways from the 2018-19 NBA season

1. They found their identity

The Magic struggled for years to find any sort of identity for themselves. Tthey were just a collection of players, not knowing how long they’d be a part of the roster and what the game plan was. That changed in 2018-19, with Clifford having an impact in this area too.

It wasn’t just that the Magic became a top-10 defensive team (with the potential to reach top-five obvious to see); it was the way in which they did this. The wins over contending teams, which there were many of, were great to see. But it was the way they fought back from losing positions that was the best trait they developed.

This was most broadly seen in how they battled back to make the playoffs, but on any given night they were never totally out of a game. They did let too many contests against inferior opponents slip away due to poor offensive execution and a lack of being able to close out games. But this was outweighed by being able to go toe-to-toe with the league’s best, coming out on top on a lot of occasions too.

If one thing from this season has to carry over to the next one, it is the Magic’s ever improving defensive abilities as a team. Perhaps just as important is the never-say-die attitude, fighting until the final buzzer. Guys like Gordon and Isaac have learned that now, and it will be invaluable moving forward for them and the organization.

With another offseason to work together, the front office and Clifford can identify veterans who also typify this way of playing, in the hopes that they can add them to the mix to take the team to that next level. Players such as Birch and even Vucevic helped to clog the paint, with Iwundu, Ross and Gordon chasing shooters off the 3-point line.

It all came together brilliantly to make the Orlando Magic one of the toughest outs of the regular season. If they can add some legitimate quality to that work ethic, then there is no doubt they will take the next step forward in their development as a group next season.