The Orlando Magic have started the season 4-0 for the first time in their history, and have given their fans plenty to be happy about in the process.
If you are an Orlando Magic fan, then the complete lack of noise or excitement around the franchise on a national level during the offseason was nothing new to you. You’ve been here before, supporting arguably the most overlooked team in the NBA. What you probably didn’t expect was for the Magic to start 4-0.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised, however, as outlined on this site here and here, the Magic had the tools in place to be successful this year. It’s been said before, but continuity, although not cool, counts for something. But the organization with the best record in the league? Even the most optimistic of fans couldn’t have accounted for that.
The schedule hasn’t even been that easy either, with wins over the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards (twice) and OKC Thunder. It’s going to get harder, but these wins are precisely why Magic fans should be ecstatic right now.
For years now, the Magic have appeared to play down to the level of their opponents on a lot of nights. They would also play up to others, which would lead to the frustrating sequence of events whereby they would pull off a surprising win against a playoff lock, before falling to lottery teams.
This process repeated itself often, with the only change usually coming when the team threw in some losses to organizations that were better than them. Not so far this year, and turning that corner early on has been huge. It wasn’t just the Heat win, although that was a great way to begin the season.
The Heat are better than the Magic, and have been for some time, but in years gone by the Magic have managed to pull out wins against their state rivals. But beating the Wizards twice, who figure to be rivaling them for a playoff spot, was huge. That was the kind of game they’d have lost before, especially the second time around when Russell Westbrook was unable to play.
To then beat the Thunder, who were surprisingly 3-0 themselves but who are surely lottery-bound this year, showed that the Magic are much better positioned to actually beat the teams they’re supposed to. The only shame is that only a small amount of fans have been allowed into the arena to watch the home games so far. Yet ironically, perhaps that is part of the reason for the Magic’s early great start?
There is nothing quite like the gradual groans and familiar feeling of letting a game slip away at the AmWay Center when the Magic are in the lead. Typically against an inferior opponent. It seeps through the building, starting with the fans before infecting the players. Right now that’s not a problem, and it shows.
The players for the Orlando Magic have surpassed expectations so far
Of course, the players deserve so much credit for this start, and the product they are producing is exactly what fans have wanted for years. Markelle Fultz looks to be taking a leap before our eyes, early-season averages of 18.3 points and 5.8 assists so encouraging for a guy who at one point looked like he might never be himself on the court again.
Rookie Cole Anthony has given the fan base a player to be genuinely excited about, and Chuma Okeke, after missing all of his rookie year last season, is already important to what they do defensively. We are a far cry away from the stodgy, tough to watch offensive basketball that has torpedoed previous years, and although there are surely going to be dips in form and losses before long, this roster looks so much better equipped to deal with these setbacks.
Evan Fournier is playing for a new contract, Aaron Gordon for his minutes and Magic life, and Nikola Vucevic like a guy who is comfortable with having so much of the action revolve around him.
At this point, we have to return to that continuity and say that the settled nature of the roster, combined with the timely arrival of Anthony and Okeke, have come together really well early in the year. Even Terrence Ross, who goes through shooting slumps, is playing like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers then looms large as a big one. If the Orlando Magic can get the win and move to 5-0, they will head towards 2021 still undefeated. A huge boost for an organization that can’t seem to get national praise, no matter what it does. With this being a shortened, 72 game season, they will have started their pursuit of the postseason perfectly. Combine that with the manner in which they are doing so, and fans can expect nothing more.