Hardwood Paroxysm’s Big Question: Can the Orlando Magic break out?
The Orlando Magic are one of the more intriguing teams in the NBA. Chris Barnewall of Hardwood Paroxysm asks whether the Orlando Magic can break out in 2016
Every question we have asked about the Orlando Magic this summer has boiled down to one overarching question:
Is this young core the Magic have built since trading Dwight Howard ready to move away from tanking/rebuilding and ready to start winning?
The hiring of Scott Skiles as head coach is certainly a sign the team is expecting more. Skiles is not one to pat you on the back and ask you what did you learn before throwing you back out there. If a player cannot get the job done, Skiles is going to sit him on the bench and find someone else who can — ask Tobias Harris from his first days in Milwaukee.
This is a team that is changing its expectations and mentality. Results will matter.
Throughout the NBA, observers are excited about the collection of talent in Orlando. The question remains whether the team can put itself together and take that next step. That is the big question the team has facing it this season.
The writers at Hardwood Paroxysm (hey, that includes me now!) came together to discuss the big questions facing the NBA this year. Chris Barnewall tackled the Magic problem, asking: “Can the Magic finally break out?”
"Will the Orlando Magic be able to break out and become this team that we all think they should be? For what feels like years now the Magic have been the go to team in the East when asking about bad teams that could make a jump to the playoffs. This has largely been due to a roster full of players that everybody likes, but the fit hasn’t always worked. There’s a lot of youth on the roster that does some nice things, but nobody has quite made that jump to stardom yet. At the moment, it’s still a roster full of role players that are trying to put together wins and make the playoffs. In the East, that might not be a bad thing, but it would be much easier if a go to star managed to emerge for Orlando.That said, there’s hope for a star and identity to emerge this year. Victor Oladipo is in his third year as a pro, Aaron Gordon just spent his summer ripping apart Orlando Summer League, and Elfrid Payton was considered by many as the second best rookie in the NBA last season. Surely, one of these young players, and Tobias Harris on a fresh new contract, can manage to break out and do something right? Well, a lot of that depends on how this roster meshes with new head coach Scott Skiles."
The rest of the questions are worth the time too (especially the one about the Jazz. . . shameless plug).
Barnewall is right though. This is the question that cuts at the heart of the Magic’s season.
It is going to take the team coming together and defining their roles in a way that has not occurred for much of the past three years. Someone is going to have to take a major step forward and take ownership of the team.
The money is on the Magic’s three potential star players in Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris. Oladipo and Harris have spoken this year about becoming better leaders. They know the pressure that is on them throughout this season.
Something has to change for the Magic to answer this question and push this rebuild forward.
One thing seems relatively certain though: Unlike last year, the Magic are going to come out of 2016 with some sort of identity and direction. Whether that means they broke out and took a step forward or stayed in rebuilding will be written once the season starts.