Allocating minutes to the Orlando Magic rotation

Milwaukee Bucks’ coach Scott Skiles directs his team during NBA play against the Miami Heat in Miami January 22, 2012. (REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity)
Milwaukee Bucks’ coach Scott Skiles directs his team during NBA play against the Miami Heat in Miami January 22, 2012. (REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity) /
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Photo via Associated Press
Photo via Associated Press /

The Bottom Line

The Magic have four premier young talents on the team in Payton, Vucevic, Oladipo and Harris. Everyone else is auditioning for a bigger role, or a prominent role, on a team with no true identity and a first-year coach.

Skiles will play as big a role as any in determining how this team takes shape. But positions are won by players, not coaches.

As Urban Meyer said regarding his quarterback issue this year at Ohio State, “I won’t be picking the starting quarterback, the players will be.” That principle always applies in position battles, at every level of play. While the coach’s preferences do play a role in who starts, it is ultimately up to the guys in question to produce — flat out.

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That means hard work and defense will go a long way, particularly so if matters are tough to decide. When a guy is going to be a complementary player, it is absolutely requisite that his effort level is nearly excessive (if such were even possible).

The Magic have the depth this season to begin to tinker with lineups and begin to form an identity, even differing identities based on first and second unit. The team has solved some of its shooting woes by internal improvement (if Gordon’s 6-for-12 3-point shooting in Summer League means anything) and by adding Hezonja in the draft.

Even figuring how many minutes Skiles is just going to hand a 19-year-old rookie, though, is also tough to guess or figure.

The Magic have some options, but the team is equally replete with difficult to answer questions. At this point, the minute allocations here do make sense on paper, but the 4-spot is a seeming mess, and hopefully that is not overly indicative of what it actually becomes this season.

Will it be a true platoon between three to five players? Possibly.

Could one guy stand out and become a true, full-time starter? Yes, absolutely.

What do you think will happen, though, readers?

Next: Brett's Starting Lineup Projections