Orlando Magic: Evaluating the season heading into the hiatus
By Chip Murphy
With the NBA on hiatus and no sporting event in sight, it’s time to evaluate what the Orlando Magic have already done during the 2019-20 season.
The Orlando Magic haven’t ranked in the top 20 in offensive rating since they traded Dwight Howard back in 2012. In case you forgot, there are 30 teams in the NBA. The Magic offense is a big reason they went through a six-year playoff drought.
The Orlando Magic finally returned to the playoffs last season, but it was on the strength of their defense. They ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating, defensive rebound percentage, opponent free throws per field goal attempt, and opponent effective field goal percentage.
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This year’s team isn’t what you’d call exciting. That’s not something you’d expect to hear about a team featuring Aaron Gordon, but it’s the truth.
Gordon may be one of the greatest dunkers of all time, but the Magic offense runs through Nikola Vucevic, and his game isn’t conducive to highlight reels. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Vucevic has the same amount of dunks this season as Luke Kennard – 23.
I don’t want to beat up on Vooch—that’s what Magic Reddit is for—but his game is boring. In the NBA you can be bad, and you can be boring, but you can’t be both at the same time.
The Orlando Magic hit their ceiling with 42 wins and a playoff berth last season. The regression of Vucevic and several injuries to an already thin roster made overachieving again with virtually the same roster unlikely.
Orlando didn’t hit their stride until after the All-Star Break when they won 6 of 10 games leading into the suspension of play. Right now, that means nothing.
I put together a few main points that tell the story of Orlando’s disappointing but predictable 30-35 record.