Clues about the 2016-2017 Orlando Magic via Basketball Reference

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Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic, Willie Reed, Brooklyn Nets

Mar 29, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) drives to the basket as Brooklyn Nets forward Willie Reed (33) attempted to defend during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Brooklyn Nets 139-105. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The new NBA player projections from Basketball Reference provide insight into how the upcoming 2016-2017 Orlando Magic season might play out.

Well, it is finally here — basketball season is finally upon us.

We know it because of the increasing chorus of “#WellActually, it’s football season” tweets from people who for whatever reason feel threatened by this development. But we also know it because there is season preview content everywhere you look.

Basketball-Reference recently published its NBA player projections for the upcoming season using its Simple Projection System (SPS), a system that predicts performance through a weighted average of a player’s previous three seasons plus adjustments for age.

SPS is less complex than other fancier projection systems (like FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO), but it is at least an interesting data point to consider alongside all of the other projections dropping in the weeks leading up to the season openers on Tuesday.

After sifting through the Basketball-Reference projections for Orlando Magic players, a few statistics stand out, and some interpretations can be made: