The Orlando Magic don’t have Dwight Howard. They don’t have Stan Van Gundy. They don’t have the nucleus that, until recently, made the franchise a contender. So what exactly are they going to be able to do without those pieces that once made them contenders?
What Went Wrong Last Season
What didn’t go wrong last season? The Magic were in training under head coach Jacque Vaughn, with a bunch of assorted spare parts that just didn’t possess a lot of talent. There wasn’t much to work with. The team was a total black hole at power forward and small forward, and it was only minimally functional and competent at shooting guard.
The point and the pivot, with Jameer Nelson and Nikola Vucevic, were the only two relatively stable positions, and Victor Oladipo was a bright spot as a rookie. Beyond him, there wasn’t much that could be said in terms of positive developments.
Orlando was worse than 20th in the NBA in field goals made, field goal percentage, three-pointers made, three-pointers attempted, three-point percentage, two-point percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, offensive rebounds, assists, blocked shots, and scoring. The Magic averaged under 97 points per game in a mediocre Eastern Conference. Any competent offensive team would have been able to make the playoffs, but Orlando couldn’t reach that basic standard. Three-point percentage defense and rebounding were the team’s big problems at the other end of the court. Vucevic didn’t get any help at the power forward spot, and Orlando’s perimeter players were mismatched in the sense that the veteran, Jameer Nelson, lacked size, and the young player, Oladipo, lacked experience. The pieces just didn’t fit together, and they weren’t even highly skilled pieces to begin with. That was a recipe for disaster.
Offseason Changes
The Magic have drafted Aaron Gordon from the University of Arizona to improve their defense and rebounding. Gordon is so active in those areas that he can immediately give Orlando a much-needed boost. Elfrid Payton is another draftee for the team; he will try to bolster the backcourt and play a complementary role along with veteran arrivals Luke Ridnour, Peyton Siva, and Seth Curry. The Magic have also obtained first-year player Devyn Marble from Iowa and Drew Crawford from Northwestern. You can see that this team is trying to stockpile young players that it can develop into a promising core in the coming few years.
Yet, for all of the changes mentioned above, the most interesting additions might be stretch four Channing Frye and shooting guard Evan Fournier. It was Fournier who formed part of a highly exciting and dynamic lineup on the 2013 Denver Nuggets, a team that won 57 games. If Fournier continues to mature as a player, Orlando might have a guy who can bust open defenses and give this team a new dimension.
Projected Finish
The Magic are just too young and not highly equipped with the talent and other pieces to make any sort of run. The East is not better than the West, but it has around 10 teams that figure to reasonably compete for playoff spots. Orlando will not be one of them.
Pick: 14th In The Eastern Conference
