Orlando Magic: 3 takeaways from their 2021-22 schedule
By Luke Duffy
Takeaways from the Orlando Magic schedule: 3. There will be a lot of losing
Make no mistake, it is an exciting time to be a Magic fan. It looks like there is a clear roadmap out of the mediocrity which they have found themselves lingering in for a long time now. The young players already mentioned look to have the kind of potential that could lead to great things down the road for the franchise.
The thing to remember though is that the Magic actually have to travel down that road to get there. It will be a road that, for the first couple of years, is going to include a lot of losing. It is easy to look internally at one’s own roster and be excited about who plays for your team. But in the grand scheme of things, the Magic just aren’t as experienced or as good as most in the league right now.
There is nothing wrong with that. This is where they are supposed to be, and with their own draft picks and one hopefully coming from the Chicago Bulls again next summer, it is not a bad place to be either. This is the point in their rebuild where the young guns take a lot of losses on the chin. Some close ones against teams in similar positions. Some absolute hammerings from contenders.
It is all ahead of them, and it starts this coming regular season. That is not to have a negative view of the players on the team. Every team that was ever truly great started somewhere, and that was at the bottom of the mountain. The Magic are going probably to even finish bottom of their own division as well, having finished top as recently as 2019.
When you think of the personalities of lead guys such as Suggs and Anthony, this could end up being a really good thing in the future as well. The kind of experience that both of them, as players with chips on their shoulders, look back on as periods of real growth for them in helping the organization get back on its feet. But be prepared. It will get ugly at times.