Orlando Magic: 3 X-factors ready to seize their opportunity
By Luke Duffy
The Orlando Magic are in a bad spot as a result of injuries, but these three players have an opportunity to take on larger responsibility.
The Orlando Magic have endured a tough time since 2012, but in the last couple of seasons, they had managed to right the ship. Back-to-back postseason berths showing their fans that, if nothing else, they were trying to make the right decisions to once again be a competitive organization.
The start of the 2020-21 season was the culmination of all of that hard work. The Magic started 6-2, and despite their schedule being relatively easy to begin the year, some of the wins came against inferior opponents that they would have lost to in the past. It looked like they had turned a corner.
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This happened without Jonathan Isaac, who went down in the bubble with an ACL tear. Thanks to the continued excellence of center Nikola Vucevic, who does not deserve what he is about to endure, and point guard Markelle Fultz, who in year two with the team was suddenly among their most important players, the Magic had an identity, some talent and a bit of depth.
The loss of Fultz, also to an ACL tear, ended any hopes of an improvement on last year. The team has lost six straight since then and looks like they are going to continue their free-fall down the standings. Monday afternoon they put in a mostly abject display to the New York Knicks, their third loss away from home on what is a five-game road trip.
Despite all of this negativity, and it is hard not to get wrapped up in it all, especially considering the glimpses of what this season could have been that we were given, all is not completely lost. Isaac and Fultz will return, and ACL tears are not the career-ender they once were (Zach LaVine is a good example of this). Until then, these three players can make the most of their opportunity to play big minutes.