Orlando Magic (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Orlando Magic are back with the same core who closed out their time in the bubble, but they have the ability to surprise again this season.
If there is one team that is hard to define coming into the season, it is the Orlando Magic. We say this because it is clear they did not make the same improvements and changes to their rosters that those around them did, which is a concern.
But they have an element of continuity that other organizations should be envious of. There might not be anything particularly cool about that, but the pieces are already in place to play competitive basketball and have been for some time now. The positive there is that everybody knows their roles.
Factor in the drafting of Cole Anthony, who fans are already taking a shine to, and the shrewd addition of Dwayne Bacon, and there’s actually a lot to like with what the Magic have on their roster. It is not championship quality, not even close, but head coach Steve Clifford, now in his third season at the helm, will have them playing competitive basketball on most nights.
Earmarking bold predictions for this group then is difficult, because their goals are already pretty clear. This is a franchise that wants to get back to the playoffs for the third straight year, and if they could avoid an elite team once they get there in round one, that would be brilliant. Sadly though, that is not going to happen.
So whereas in previous years making the postseason would have been among the most bold goals, and although it is far from guaranteed, with many feeling they are going to slip out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference this coming season, that will not be making an appearance on this list. No, we’re going bolder this year, but in a different way.
<span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> Magic: Starting lineup: Locks, fringe, & break-ins </a> </div>
</div>
<p>Earmarking bold predictions for this group then is difficult, because their goals are already pretty clear. This is a franchise that wants to get back to the playoffs for the third straight year, and if they could avoid an elite team once they get there in round one, that would be brilliant. Sadly though, that is not going to happen.</p>
<p>So whereas in previous years making the postseason would have been among the most bold goals, and although it is far from guaranteed, with many feeling they are going to slip out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference this coming season, that will not be making an appearance on this list. No, we’re going bolder this year, but in a different way.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Top 10 offensive team </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_418206" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img class="size-full wp-image-418206" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1198106986.jpeg" alt="Orlando Magic" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1198106986.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1198106986-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Orlando Magic (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>3. The Orlando Magic need to be a top-10 offensive team</h2>
<p>On the surface, this seems a big ask for a number of reasons. Only truly elite teams with superstars can be great on both ends of the court, and the Magic are not that. With their identity built around defending at a high level, something they have mostly done during coach Clifford’s time in charge so far, being top 10 offensively seems outrageous.</p>
<p>Yet there is reason to not write this off completely just yet, despite how hard it would be to achieve. Continuity is a word we’re going to hear around this group all year, especially when things are going well. But it is true in the sense that the offensive schemes won’t be new to most players, even if the plays themselves could do with some tweaking.</p>
<p>Center Nikola Vucevic continues to improve as a 3-point shooter, and he is an All-Star level guy which the offense is built around. That’s a good place to start. Evan Fournier is in a contract year, so you’d think that the shade under 40 percent that he shot from deep last season should hold pretty firm. Even if he will forever divide fans like few other players in the league can.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imagine risking your life to watch Evan Fournier go 5-for-19 <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://t.co/r4YGijeiR2">https://t.co/r4YGijeiR2
<p>— Reigning Premier League Champion Merry Durney (@JerryDurneyPBP) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://twitter.com/JerryDurneyPBP/status/1338872724794601472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>December 15, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Aaron Gordon is due a breakout at some point, and some <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/15/orlando-magic-starting-lineup-locks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">genuine competition for his minutes</a> might give him the kick he needs to be an even better shooter. After all, he has shown a willingness to shoot the 3-point shot more frequently in recent year. Terrence Ross isn’t nicknamed “The Human Torch” for nothing, while Cole Anthony looks ready to contribute offensively right away.</p>
<p>Dwayne Bacon doesn’t exactly move the needle, but in a more featured role his scoring could improve. That is also the case for <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/fultzma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Markelle Fultz</a>, who looks even more comfortable shooting than he did last season. Of course offensive basketball is more than just shooting loads of 3-pointers and hoping enough go in.</p>
<p>But the roster is better equipped to do at least that, while the blend of Vucevic, Fultz, Gordon, Fournier and Bacon has enough about it both inside and outside of the paint to cause opponents problems. It is a big ask, but certainly something to aim for.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Markelle Fultz makes a leap </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_407461" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img class="size-full wp-image-407461" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1077,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1265267180.jpeg" alt="Orlando Magic" width="1600" height="1077" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1265267180.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1265267180-768x517.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Orlando Magic (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>2. Markelle Fultz makes a leap for the Orlando Magic</h2>
<p>Make no mistake, there’s a difference between “a” leap, and “the” leap. The front office still isn’t putting too much pressure on Fultz to succeed, and that has worked well so far. He overachieved on modest expectations last year, in what was his first with the franchise, which is why a leap is not out of the question.</p>
<p>With Anthony having been drafted, there is less pressure on Fultz to run the backcourt alone, but also perhaps more in the long run if Anthony starts hunting for his job. Of course it may also end up being that they play together, a prospect which as a result of their skillsets could <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/14/orlando-magic-maybe-bad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most certainly work</a>.</p>
<p>Last year Fultz averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 assists per night. Pedestrian enough numbers, certainly the kind that can be improved upon. As we saw in the bubble though, when those numbers held firm in the postseason despite playing five games against the Milwaukee Bucks, the game of Fultz practically guarantees that these numbers will move north this year.</p>
<p>Fultz was the Magic’s second best player in that series, which really says more about Fournier and Gordon than anything else. The step up in competition, although tough to handle, didn’t faze him, and he continued to play like he had all season and up to that point. Composed on the ball, picking the right pass often, and a problem for opponents in the paint.</p>
<p>If Fultz continues to do all of those things, and a couple of preseason games would indicate that being the case, while even being a slightly better shooter, then good things are going to happen. As it is he is already an above average defender, and is only likely to improve as he gets more games and experience under his belt.</p>
<p>By the end of this coming season, Fultz may have done enough to make fans feel less worried about the continued injury woes of Jonathan Isaac. To establish himself as the team’s second best player over a whole year, behind Vucevic, would be a brilliant development from a guy who is still only 22-years-old.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Aaron Gordon is an All-Star </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_418207" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img class="size-full wp-image-418207" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1045,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1290780973.jpeg" alt="Orlando Magic" width="1600" height="1045" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1290780973.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1290780973-768x502.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Orlando Magic (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>1. Aaron Gordon is an All-Star</h2>
<p>It has to happen at some point, right? That is the boldest claim that the Magic can make this year. That Gordon will be an All-Star, not just one who shows up and gets robbed on the Saturday night. Many thought it might have happened before now, but there has been a lack of consistency to Gordon’s game which has frustrated for years.</p>
<p>He can go through patches, often against better opponents, where he is the Magic’s best defender, while also dropping 20+ points and 8 or so rebounds. What usually follows is a run where he looks disengaged and disinterested, and it is tough to watch. That is not a personal knock on Gordon, he is surely not going out there to play in that manner on purpose.</p>
<p>But that is the real frustration of watching him play. We know how good he can be, he has shown everybody who cares to watch enough times. He’s as ridiculously athletic as ever, and the shooting touch mentioned already is a part of his game more often than not. It is just about creating some consistency, that’s all that’s missing.</p>
<p>So why not this year? Gordon knows he’s a starter, and will likely be at the four spot, his preferred position. He’s settled with a head coach and a point guard who will always try and find him if he is in the best position to attack. Playing with Bacon and Fournier, the paint may be less cramped so he’ll have more room to work with.</p>
<p>The franchise really needs a face, at least until Isaac gets back, despite the best intentions of Vucevic. That now yearly trade talk throughout the offseason has died down, and for now it looks like he has the backing of the front office. To go out there and put up All-Star level numbers and play, at a time when the Orlando Magic need it most, would be huge for both player and team.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA Predictions: 2020-21 NBA win total projections" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/16/orlando-magic-3-bold-predictions/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA Predictions: 2020-21 NBA win total projections </a> </div>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—>">