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Orlando Magic: The strategy of the offseason
The Magic continued their upward trend last season, even though they failed in the first round of the playoffs mainly due to their own lack of offensive skills. 94:106 in Game 7 of the first round after 47 wins in the regular season – but the direction was right. That’s why the course was maintained in the offseason. With the exception of the injury-prone point guard Markelle Fultz, all top performers were extended; from a German perspective, the Wagner brothers should of course be mentioned first and foremost: Moritz remains the first center off the bench, Franz was more or less given the imprint of up to $224 million. Franchise Player” – even if everything didn’t go well for him last year.
The three big men Wendell Carter Jr., Goga Bitadze and Jonathan Isaac also extended, and Gary Harris remains on board. And who will bring the urgently needed shoot? Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the practically perfect three-and-D recruit from Denver who knows how to win a title. Meanwhile, the German connection was increased again in the draft: Tristan da Silva is a similarly versatile player as Franz Wagner and, at 23 years old, is already ready to help quickly.
The front office is relying on the current core, and after the coming season Banchero can also sign his contract extension. This means that the team is more or less fixed for the near future, although most contracts can certainly be traded. It remains to be seen exactly what the limit of this team is. This season we want to achieve 50 wins and win at least one round of the playoffs.
Orlando Magic: The strengths and weaknesses
The Magic come through their defense: From Suggs to Isaac, this team is almost impossible to play against and can shut down almost any offense. Orlando then gets easy points by winning the ball. The squad is very diverse on the wing, with Banchero and Wagner you have a “two-headed monster” that you can use to run the offense. And there’s an incredible amount of energy coming from the bench; the Magic have perhaps the best second guard in the NBA.
The offense is the big problem, there is simply a lack of reliable scoring. In a league in which almost every team wants to take more three-pointers than before, the Magic were in 27th place in this regard – and 25th in terms of hit rate. Not only are there a lack of shooters, but also the build-up game to use the shooters well – Paolo Banchero, for example, takes throws that are far too difficult on average because he was supposed to take the coals out of the fire – and the defense collapsed. How is this supposed to get any better if Fultz is gone too? Whether Suggs and Anthony Black are the answer seems questionable.
