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Orlando Magic: Revisiting the decade that was the 2010s

By Luke Duffy

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 23: Head Coach Stan Van Gundy talks to Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic during the game against the Boston Celtics on January 23, 2012 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Jim Rogash/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 23: Head Coach Stan Van Gundy talks to Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic during the game against the Boston Celtics on January 23, 2012 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Jim Rogash/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic
(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2011-12

This was the year defined by the NBA lockout, with the Magic going 37-29 in what was a shortened regular season. Some of the problems with the roster were not addressed during the offseason, with the hope being that Howard’s greatness could mask the flaws that had seemed so unlikely only two seasons previously.

Turkoglu and Richardson were still playing heavy a lot of minutes (with both averaging under 12 points per game), while the end of the bench got weaker. Quentin Richardson had moments, and Glen Davis was engaged on some nights, but names like Earl Clark and Daniel Orton were starting to appear a bit too frequently.

Redick was growing into a valuable contributor, and at only 23 Anderson too was the kind of stretch four that was beginning to come into fashion. He shot 39.3 percent from deep, while Redick was a scorching 41.8 percent. Chris Duhon appeared in 63 games, and there was even some Von Wafer.

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The franchise was headed towards a crossroads, with veterans chasing a ring, such as Lewis and Carter, having moved on. Howard and Nelson were very much in win-now mode, and so too where Turkoglu and Richardson, despite being a couple of rungs lower down on the talent ladder. But Redick and Anderson represented a future too, despite coach Van Gundy needing them to mature at a quicker rate to become key pieces to a title push.

They fell to 12th defensively (104.1), and what had at one point been an excellent and in some ways simple offensive scheme had slipped to 15th (105).

Any hope of playoff success was snuffed out before it had even begun, even with Howard committing to the franchise for 2012-13, as he had to have back surgery in April that ended his season. Just before this rumors had begun circulating that he had spoken to ownership about removing Van Gundy from his job as head coach. What followed next was one of the most iconic, and awkward, sporting moments of the decade.

The wheels were starting to come off, and as the sixth seed they looked certain to be picked off without Howard on the court, and the increased turmoil he was causing off of it. This was exactly what happened, as the young and exciting Indiana Pacers, coached by Frank Vogel, took them out in five games.

It says a lot about that series that Davis was their top scorer, averaging 19 points per game. The Magic’s offensive rating for the series? An awful 96. For the second season in a row, they were gone in round one, and the future did not look good.

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