3 Realistic goals for the Orlando Magic this season

The Orlando Magic enter the 2022–23 NBA season with as much optimism as we have seen in recent years. Though fans of other teams and media members (with the exception of Zach Lowe, who always gives them credit when it is warranted) continue to overlook them, the core of a group that will be relevant in the not-too-distant future now exists.

In some ways, the timing is a tiny bit unfortunate. The Magic have now reached a point where they are not among the four worst organizations in the league, just as Victor Wembanyama comes on the scene as the expected first-overall pick in next year’s draft. You can’t be bad forever, though, and it feels like this franchise is about to turn a corner.

With several high lottery picks in place, and first overall pick Paolo Banchero, the Orlando Magic are ready for their next phase.

It will not be all about Paolo Banchero, however. Markelle Fultz (despite another annoying injury setback) continues to show why he is so important to the group when he plays. His point guard abilities are on full display in how he calms everybody around him down. Additionally, the tempo and defensive instincts he brings on a nightly basis will be crucial once he returns.

Jalen Suggs may have had a tough rookie year (that is continuing), but like Cole Anthony before him, the best is yet to come. Franz Wagner was one of the summer’s rising stars, leading Germany to victory in the FIBA EuroBasket competition. Meanwhile, coach Jamahl Mosley is back for his second year as well, and that continuity will begin to bear fruit as the campaign progresses. With all of that in mind, here are three realistic goals for the franchise this coming season:

The Orlando Magic must improve offensively.

For the last two seasons, the Magic have ranked second to last in the entire league in offensive rating. Three years ago, back in the 2018-19 season, they were a bit better, ranking 22nd across the league. Clearly, there is a problem here, and there was no easy solution either.

Magic fans will shudder if you ask them to remember all of their possessions and it was often left to former player Evan Fournier to create something. Anything. To be fair to the Frenchman, sometimes he did actually make a play happen. Still, creation has been lacking, which is where Banchero and veteran Terrence Ross come in.

Ross is a microwave type of player, and despite the persistent rumors that he would be traded once the organization broke up its former core, he has remained. In doing so, Ross has become the veteran leader of the group. More than that, fans love it when he checks in and rattles off 12 quick points before exiting again.

In six years with the Magic, he averaged 13.3 points on 34.8 percent shooting from deep, but so many of those points came at the right time.He has bailed them out off the bench and will continue to do so this year. Crucially, though, he will have more help in the form of the ready-made offensive hub that is Banchero.

It is asking a lot of a rookie to carry the Magic in this area. But considering the fans were happy with Nikola Vucevic doing just that for many years, the bar really isn’t all that high. That is no knock on Vucevic, a franchise legend, but Banchero has far more creativity and individual brilliance in his bag than the fundamentally sound Vucevic.

Preseason games don’t count for anything, but after three games played, the Magic rank 22nd (99.4). There is still tons of work to be done, but any indicator at all that they are trending in the right direction is to be welcomed. Aiming to be league-average offensively this season should be the goal.

The Orlando Magic have a player make the All-Star game.

It would be asking too much to expect Banchero to leap all the way into All-Star contention in year one, but there are other realistic candidates on the roster. Anthony was a fringe (fringe…) possibility last year, as his personality shone through and was infectious for the group. It didn’t hurt that he picked up some of the slack in the absence of Fultz.

And although the Eastern Conference is as loaded as it has been in some time, stranger things have happened. The introduction of studs like Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray does not help, and as the Nature Boy Ric Flair once said, “If You Want To Be The Best, You Got To Beat The Best.”

The more obvious choice is Wagner. He is going to see a lot of the ball, and next to Banchero, he will be tasked with being an offensive creator. More than that, he showed in his rookie season a willingness to finish at the basket as well. He can do a little bit of everything and is going to get better this coming year.

Perhaps Wagner has a slightly easier job getting in as a forward if the backcourts of many Eastern Conference teams are crowded with talent. Nevertheless, it is still going to be very hard for the Magic to get a player into the All-Star game, but they should be attempting to do so because of what that will mean for the team.

Chances are, if Wagner makes the All-Star game, it is because the Magic have overachieved and made some people take notice of them in the process. What that looks like is not clear at this point. But, as we’ve seen with Vucevic in the past when the Magic are in contention for the playoffs, recognition follows. This is why it is important to aim to have an All-Star.

The Orlando Magic must make the play-in tournament

In order for the Magic to validate the progress they are clearly making, they have to at least make the play-in tournament. Actually, making the playoffs proper would represent a resounding success and be proof that Coach Mosley is the right man to lead this team forward.

While not many people are paying attention, consider the following as the core group of players for the franchise right now. Banchero, Wagner, Ross, Anthony, Fultz, Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. That is not a bad place to start, and although it is among the youngest rosters in the league, the potential is huge.

When you also consider that the Charlotte Hornets look set to regress, the Washington Wizards could go into a full-on rebuild at any moment and the Detroit Pistons are in a similar position to the Magic (or better), the sky is the limit. Then there is a second group lurking behind that one, and you can bet at least one of the players from this cohort ends up having a say this season:

• Jonathan Isaac
• Bol Bol
• Mohamed Bamba
• Chuma Okeke
• R.J. Hampton
• Gary Harris

That is the whole second group, and that represents the depth that has been lacking in recent years. Fans of teams typically overestimate the ability and potential of the players on their team, but in the case of the Magic, they definitely have something here. Even if Isaac doesn’t turn into a solid rotation player (he has missed the last two seasons), Harris has trade value.

Hampton is still only 21-years-old and has the potential to get better if given a chance. Bol really intrigues, but it remains to be seen if he can get healthy. Okeke was already an intriguing player on a previous iteration of this roster.

Overall, the Magic are too good to bottom out entirely, so making a run for the play-in tournament and turning their potential into results should now be their top priority.