The Orlando Magic have scraped into the playoffs the past two seasons. Here are 5 roster moves they need to make to move up the standings.
The Orlando Magic have made the NBA playoffs for the last two years. This is good for the franchise who spent the previous six years watching on when the postseason began. This period in the wilderness coincided with losing Dwight Howard, their franchise cornerstone.
However, they have started building a team that is going to be competitive for many years. Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, D.J. Augustin and Al-Farouq Aminu are all over 27 and are an experienced core, which is necessary for success.
They also have Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz and Mohamed Bamba who are all 24 or younger. This gives them a nice blend of youth and experience which should help them progress up the standings.
The Orlando Magic went backward rather than forwards this year
Unfortunately, the Magic actually regressed, both in the standings and in their win percentage. They finished seventh in the East last season, slipping back to eighth this season. This can be easily explained by the Miami Heat going past them who made it to the finals this year.
Unfortunately for the Magic and their fans, the drop in win percentage is not as easy to explain. They won 51.2 percent of their games last season. This season they won 45.2 percent of their games. Yes, they made the playoffs, but with a losing record.
One of the biggest issues was their offense. They were 12th in the league with 25.5 assists per game in 2018-19. In the 2019-20 season, they were 18th last season with 23.9. While 1.6 assists may not sound like much, the NBA is a game of inches. You slip down in one metric and it shows in many others.
One true indicator is field goal percentage. In the 2018-19 season, the Magic were 18th in the league with 45.4 percent as a team. In 2019-20 they shot the ball at 44.4 percent, which was 27th in the league.
The 3-point percentage also tells a story. In the 2018-19 season, the Magic shot the 3-ball at 35.6 percent which was good for 11th in the league. In the season just finished, the Magic shot the ball at 34.3, which was good for 25th in the league.
Again, these numbers do not show huge dips, but it shows the Magic are not keeping pace with the league and it is hurting them. With all this in mind, it is time to take a look at the five roster moves the Orlando Magic must make this offseason.