The Orlando Magic aka Can they get over the Hump

Have to keep Franz happy.

 

Rocket River

 

He was actually decent iirc.

 

Bane actually fits that team really well, they just paid a heavy price.

They have a good amount of "solid" role players. They need Banchero and/or Wagner to take another big step, and it would help a lot if Jonathan Isaac can stay healthy and be a difference maker. Their center rotation is tricky - Carter, Goga, and Moe Wagner (when healthy) are all fine players, but don't really excel at anything (except Wagner is a pretty good scorer at the 5). Isaac is a rim protector if healthy, but that's hard to count on. They could use a better rebounder/shotblocker in that mix -- someone like Capela would've been a great fit in that starting 5.

 

My initial gut reaction was what a crazy thread…….but when you look at that team on paper it has a sneaky Indiana feel to it……but they don’t have a KD and a Udoker!

 

If they are playing 6 guys in their 2nd unit, they really really should do well...

 

Rule change: If you have a 11-man rotation, you can play 6 guys on the floor at some point of the game.

 

I was looking at how important 3-point shooting is and noticed that all of the top 3 point shooting teams (% I think) were also playoff teams. The Rockets were at the bottom of the group of playoff teams, but still better than the non playoff teams. There were two outliers… Phoenix and Orlando.

Phoenix was obviously a top shooting team that couldn’t put together wins. Orlando wasn’t just outside of the group, they were one of the worst 3pt teams, carried mostly by their defense.

I think for Orlando, they needed to add more shooting. Defense is their identity, but if they are going to get over the hump, their priority needs to be adding shooters. Getting Desmond Bane was a really good move for them.

 

No, Bane is still a baby learning to crawl.... give him a few more years.

 

With Paolo's huge extension, the Magic are pretty much locked in with the majority of their roster for the next 3 seasons, right? I saw somewhere 91% of the cap will be tied up in 4 players and then they'll have about 60-70 M for the remaining 10-11 players which sounds nuts if true.

 

Kevin Durant - 1 - 1st Rd Pick, 5 - 2nd Rd Picks

Desmond Bane - 5 - 1st Rd Picks

Paolo Banchero - $287 million

Jabari Smith - $122 million

 

Bane was an excellent pickup, and I'd expect them to be a top 4 team in the East for the next five seasons. Maybe even make it to the conference finals one time, if things break their way.

I don't think they have enough to make a serious run at the championship, though.