The Orlando Magic look like an organization ready to surprise a lot of people once again.
Few could have predicted the impressive leap that the Orlando Magic took in 2018-19. They had a player in center Nikola Vucevic make it to the All-Star Game and cement his status as a top-five big man in the league today.
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Their young core showed improvement, while the defensive schemes of head coach Steve Clifford came together as well. All of this lead to a southeast division title and a return to the playoffs, with the Magic looking particularly impressive through the last 30 games on the season.
It will be hard for them creep up on people as they did last year, but with the organization looking like they can actually be good consistently throughout the winter, all this will do is move the goalposts on what exactly they can achieve.
Which makes talk of bold predictions for this group an easier task than in seasons gone by. Those campaigns were over before they even began, even if it officially took until around Christmas time for the Magic to prove they were lottery bound. What is equally as exciting is trying to figure out where these bold predictions could come from on the roster.
Right now there is a lot to like in many areas of what the Magic are doing, and that includes the sneaky depth they have built. Saying their bench is going to help them win games is by no means a bold statement, which is why it is not going to appear in the following slides. But there is no doubt that guys like Khem Birch and Terrence Ross have a role to play.
Even Evan Fournier, who was looking like something of a forgotten man in Orlando, had a redemption tour over in China in case people had forgotten what he could bring to the team. There’s a lot to like here, which makes predicting what they will be able to achieve next season all the more fun for the first time in a long time.
3. Jonathan Isaac wins MIP award
We begin with what certainly looks to be a big reach, but that may not actually be as crazy as you would think, and that is with Jonathan Isaac picking up the Most Improved Player award. Entering his third year, he is still only 21 and hasn’t yet shown the ability to be able to lead a team.
Really year two was simply about getting him healthy and back on the court, as he went from playing in only 27 games his rookie year (starting 10), to a much better 75 games (with 64 starts). There were flashes within the big uptick in court time however, to inspire some confidence.
February was when Isaac had his best month as a pro, averaging 13.7 points and 38.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line. He comes into this season not only as a guaranteed starter, but with some offseason buzz around him for the first time.
People around the league expect to see real improvement, and proving that he can play alongside Aaron Gordon was huge for both their own personal development and to prove that organization was right to pair them together in the first place.
If you think Isaac is still too young to make a serious run at this award or that his numbers still veer towards the pedestrian, you only need to look at recent winners to see that he has a shot.
Did anybody really predict Pascal Siakam would become one of the key players on a title winning team at this stage last year? Crucially, Isaac could also have something that guys like Siakam have had on their way to the award. The narrative.
The Magic are going to be better, and could even look at trying to get homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs if they play like many believe can. If they were to achieve this, with Isaac improving in every statistical category along the way, he would surely put himself in a position to be considered for the award.
2. Markelle Fultz to consistently contribute
We are entering uncharted territory here, especially with Markelle Fultz yet to actually suit up for the Magic. Postseason workout videos, while circulating online, have been kept to a modest showing as well. All of which is to say, it would take a brave person to predict when Fultz will return to action, let alone perform consistently for the team.
There is reason to hope though, and that is with the Magic choosing to pick up the option on his contract for the 2020-21 season. A no-brainer given that they traded not a lot for the guy and can’t give him an out in case he hits the ground running, but the timing could be seen as odd as well.
The organization were under no obligation to pick up the option at this point, and could have waited until later in October once training camps have started before making the decision. They did not do this, instead making the announcement alongside other guys like Isaac and Mohamed Bamba.
Now, this could have been done to group all of the young players together so as to not draw more attention to Fultz. It is also true that the Magic were over the cap anyway, whether or not they paid Fultz the rather hefty $12.3 million he will make in 2020-21. But it is also true that this is a front office that, since taking over, has been smart and calculated in everything that it has done.
They used the two lottery picks they’ve had so far on Isaac and Bamba, two bigs with defensive chops who look capable of being average 3-point shooters as their careers progress. They also hired Clifford, a proven veteran on the bench, to bring the young core along and instils a defensive work ethic.
They followed all of this up with bringing back Vucevic and Ross, and adding more leadership in Al-Farooq Aminu. These are people not into making wild gambles, and so far it has paid off with the franchise steadily improving. If they didn’t like what they saw in Fultz, they would move on from him quickly, because this is a crucial time in the Magic’s growth.
Instead they are sticking by him, and if he is ready to go on opening night we could see Fultz eventually rise to starting point guard ahead of D.J. Augustin. Even that feels too bold at this point, so we’ll settle for playing something like 50 games, putting up eight points and four assists in a little over 20 minutes.
Pedestrian on the surface, but bold given Fultz is the biggest enigma in the NBA since Dennis Rodman.
1. Actually win a playoff series
Even saying the above sentence out loud sounds crazy, because of all of the pain that Magic fans have endured this decade. All of the missed opportunities with Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris and the short-sighted moves of adding Serge Ibaka and Brandon Jennings. Watching the Devyn Marbles and Stephen Zimmermans of the world flame out quickly.
They had their moment last season, of actually leading the eventual champion Toronto Raptors 1-0 in a series, and given where they came from they should be happy with that. But if you look at the teams that finished above the Magic last year, there is reason for optimism that they can finish higher and get themselves a better matchup for the first round of the postseason in 2020.
The Brooklyn Nets will be missing Kevin Durant for the year, and Kyrie Irving leaves the Boston Celtics with a patchy record of gelling with teammates. The Raptors figure to take a tumble after losing Kawhi Leonard, while the audition of the core of the Boston Celtics playing together for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup didn’t end brilliantly and will take time to repair.
You can’t argue that the Magic will finish above the Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers, and some would favor a revamped Indiana Pacers over them as well. But if they could climb into the third or fourth seed, they’d have every chance of getting out of the first round, and the aforementioned home-court advantage would help.
The Magic also had this weird ability to play up to their opponents last season, sweeping the season series with the Los Angeles Lakers and beating the Celtics, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors as well. It was the lesser teams who gave them trouble, but they continuity should turn some of those loses into W’s this coming season.
Add in the fact that the Magic ranked eighth in defensive rating during the regular season (107.6), and an even-better fifth after the All-Star break (107), and they look set to suffocate opponents nightly. Their 3-point shooting as a team, so often dreadful throughout their rebuild, shot up to a much more respectable 11th (35.6 percent) as well.
Finally they ranked 12th in team assists per contest (25.5), to again show their credentials as an above-average team. In the weaker Eastern Conference, being just that is enough to be competitive in the first round of the playoffs. If they take another step forward, which looks really possible, then winning a round in the postseason is the next step, bold as that sounds.