Orlando Magic Team Review
The Orlando Magic have gotten off to a 6-5 start to begin the season; a stat that is better than expected for a team projected by ESPN to win 36.5 games before the season. It’s early, but Orlando is on pace to win 44.5 games, which would put them firmly in the playoff race. For reference, the Magic are tied with the Knicks for the 6th seed and ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers, both playoff teams last season.
Orlando has won games on the strength of their defense so far this season. The Magic have the league’s 3rd best defense in the league right now, with a team defensive rating of 107. Orlando only allows 106.6 points per game, good enough for 6th in the league. While Orlando is not a dominant rebounding team, they only allow their opponents 12 second-chance points per game, third in the league.
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With length across the board at all positions, Orlando’s young athletes make it hard to put up points. Nobody on Orlando’s entire roster has a defensive rating above 112. Johnathan Issac, their oft-injured Swiss army knife, has been healthy and active defensively this season, boasting a DRTG of 94.5 through nine games; the best on the team for those who have played more than five games. His minutes per game does not allow him to qualify for the entire league, but he would be a top five defensive player based on his defensive rating.
Where Orlando is going to need to improve is offensively. While the Magic are suffocating defensively, they are one of the worst teams in the league offensively, only scoring 108.3 points per game; 29th in the league. Orlando has yet to establish a go-to offensive player, choosing to score by committee, as many up-and-coming teams do. The Magic has six players scoring double figures; however Markelle Fultz has only played five games due to injury, making it essentially five players that qualify.
Paolo Banchero was expected to take on the mantle, as he is the team’s best player. However, he is only averaging 18.7 points per game on roughly 14 attempts per game. Franz Wagner, who makes a strong case himself for being the team’s go-to guy, averages 18.3 points per game on 16 shots per game. Their next four leading scorers all average between 11-13 points a night. In order for Orlando to reach their potential, both Banchero and Wagner are going to have to raise their level of play to all-star status, while their supporting cast becomes closer to 15 point scorers.
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A potential inhibitor to Orlando’s top scorers underperforming is the lack of spacing. Orlando is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league, averaging 10 made threes a game on a paltry 32.9% per game, both 4th worst in the league. Orlando’s sacrificing their spacing on the floor for elite defense, but in an offensive league where points come quick, fast, and in a hurry, Orlando must consider tweaking the starting lineup just a bit. Anthony Black, the Magic’s first of two picks in the 2023 draft, has earned himself a starting role in place of the injured Markelle Fultz. Three of Orlando’s five best shooters come off the bench, four if you include Caleb Houston, who is shooting 44% on 9 total threes made. Paolo Banchero has picked up his shooting ability as of late, shooting 40% from downtown on the season, however one has to wonder if it is sustainable over the course of 82 games. The Magic are going to have to increase their three-point output in order to open up the floor for their slashers.
Orlando has a winnable three-game stretch against the 4-8 Chicago Bulls and 5-6 Toronto Raptors, with their toughest outing against the 7-4 Indiana Pacers and their high octane offense sandwiched in between. Their defense is already elite, and if they can get their offense to match their defensive output, their wins won’t be a surprise much longer.