Fan’s Take: Grading the Orlando Magic’s Season
By Brett Lauer
With just eight games remaining and the Magic unable to make the playoffs, it is time to see how the fans thought the team did this season.
The season might have not turned out like many would have thought, but there were some positives that occurred throughout.
For one, Orlando saw wins against the following playoff teams: Atlanta, Houston, Chicago and Portland. Whether it was due to the teams underestimating the Magic or not, it is still a good sign for this ball club. The Magic showed they are able to compete with the best.
The team just needs to become more consistent with their play to allow these wins to happen on a more regular basis.
Secondly, Magic fans have seen Elfrid Payton grow and mature over the course of the season. He has become more relaxed and his decision making has only gotten better.
His shooting percentage has continued to increase, as well as his assists and rebounds per game. He even put together back-to-back triple doubles. Something that has not been done by a rookie since Antoine Walker did it with the Celtics in 1997.
Payton is also an active defender who has gotten on ball handler’s nerves over the course of the season. He has great potential and fans should be excited for the future.
Next, there has been some noticeable growth with some of the team’s returning players.
Nikola Vucevic has played rather consistently throughout the season and has improved from a year ago. He was even considered an All-Star snub by some. He is also among the league leaders in double-doubles for the season. Vucevic is a player the organization can rely on, but needs to continue to improve his shot-altering defensive abilities.
Perhaps a player is on their way to help in this department, whether it is through the draft, free agency or a trade. Either way, Vucevic is a great asset for the Magic and someone to be proud of.
Victor Oladipo saw a bump up in his game as well. He has increased his points per game and has seen improvements in his field goal percentages. He has become more of a floor general and does not shy away from crunch-time moments.
He still has the tendency to turnover the ball at a decent rate, but he is still young and can focus on this in the offseason. The future is still bright for him.
Although Tobias Harris did not make any real drastic changes in his production numbers, he was able to increase his 3-point percentage to a respectable level. Last season he shot just 25 percent. But this season, he was able to convert 36 percent of his attempts. Besides 3-point efficiency, Harris saw a slight increase in his points per game.
Even though he might not have taken a leap forward this season like some might have thought he would, he still maintained respectable numbers throughout the season and is a clear asset for the team. It will be interesting to see how the Magic handle him in free agency this offseason.
Lastly, fans saw some breakout performances from some surprise players.
Dewayne Dedmon showed he has ability to stay in this league. He has nothing but energy and hustle when he is on the floor. He has been a spark for the team in numerous games throughout the season. In just less than 14 minutes per game, he was able to grab about five rebounds and add 3.5 points at a high percentage.
At 7 feet tall, Dedmon seems to be in the Magic’s plans as he has shown there is definitely a lot of potential to his game.
Willie Green was ability to provide some stability on the court when times got tough throughout the season. Some fans had been calling for him to be traded or let go, but in many occasions throughout the season he has shown his worth and maybe even changed the minds of some of those fans.
He was even known as Mr. Fourth Quarter for a while as he provided some clutch shots for the team. Whether Green will be back next season is unknown, but he definitely proved himself as being a nice piece for this team this season.
Although this article has mentioned many of the positives for this season, there were actually many more negatives (as most of us know). These negatives include the team’s overall record, inconsistency in the team’s effort and play, a head coach being fired, and some players not performing as well as they should.
However, instead of breaking down all of the negatives, as I’m sure many of us are tired of hearing, I want to know how YOU, the fan, thought the team has done as we get toward the end of the season.
Please select an option in the poll and feel free to leave comments below. Did the team do enough this season to make you excited about the future? Or, does it still seem like the team is years away from being contenders again?