Orlando Magic: 3 players who need big final stretch after the hiatus

1. Nikola Vucevic

The obvious answer here, especially after seeing how he carried the Magic back to the playoffs off the back of an All-Star calibre year last season, is center Nikola Vucevic. Again his case is different to both Gordon and Ross however, because we already know that he’s the best player on the team. Most nights, he shows it too.

It’s just that he has slipped a little bit on the performances of last year, and because we know he is capable of getting to that higher level, he is judged a bit differently because of it. It is only right too, Vucevic is in the first year of a four-year, $100 million deal, so fans are right to expect him to be the guy when the team takes to the court. It is what he is paid to do.

Players like Augustin and Ross, who had career years last season, and even the introduction of Carter-Williams, certainly helped Vucevic. This season however he hasn’t had as much production around him, which has meant his own numbers have taken a hit too. Sometimes he tries to do too much because of this, and that does not work either.

The problem here is how Vucevic, despite a tremendous year last year, was exposed by Marc Gasol in the playoffs. The Toronto Raptors rightly zoned in on Vucevic as the Magic’s best player, and he was not able to cope. Throughout this regular season, with his teammates laying low, opponents have again been able to do this, and had some success.

But if Vucevic could close out the regular season playing the way he did last year, then there is every reason to think the Orlando Magic could slip into that seventh spot. Beyond that he is going to need some help, but there’s no doubt Vucevic can go up another level, because we have seen it before.

His personal numbers aren’t even down by that much compared to last season in most key areas, but if he could lift it that little bit more, it would be hugely beneficial for the team. The offense flows through Vucevic already, so he is doing his part on that end. Defensively he’s gone from a liability to average over the years. But if this is as good as it gets now, the next three years could certainly drag for the Orlando Magic.