Orlando Magic: 3 biggest disappointments from the 2018-19 NBA season

2. Nikola Vucevic’s playoffs

While the regular season went better than expected, the playoffs were a different story. Although getting there in the first place was the main accomplishment and should be viewed as such, the five-game series against the Toronto Raptors did not go well for Orlando. This was especially true in Vucevic’s case.

Having had such a memorable regular season (one in which he finished ninth in Player Efficiency Rating with 25.5), the hope was that if nothing else, Vucevic would post similar numbers while the Magic went down fighting. Instead he vanished in the postseason, as the Raptors did a great job of freezing him out of the series.

It wasn’t just that a better team planned accordingly for Vucevic though. His passive body language showed a player who was not comfortable being the guy expected to lead the Magic through this daunting task of remaining competitive against a better team. Vucevic’s numbers reflected this.

He averaged 11.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the series, while also shooting 23.1 percent from deep. This number hurt an average offensive outfit even more, as the 36.4 percent Vucevic shot from 3-point range during the regular season was sorely needed as an outlet to get a bucket against a fantastic Raptors defense.

If one stat summed up Vucevic’s playoffs, it was his PER falling all the way to 10.2 during the five games before the Magic’s exit — so far below what he showed he was capable of during the regular season, and a few levels below even the league average of 15.0.

The disappointment of Vucevic’s postseason run could have long-term repercussions as well. As an unrestricted free agent this summer, it may have hurt his ability to get paid elsewhere after the most complete season of his career. It may also make the Magic wary of re-signing him for too much money as well. This was a costly postseason for Vucevic for many reasons.