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Previewing the Orlando Magic with Hoops Rumors

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 17, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Magic 107-94. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Magic 107-94. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Hoops Rumors recently called us up to help answer some pressing questions about the Orlando Magic and set the bar for the season.

The preseason closed Friday with the Orlando Magic’s 86-76 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The team’s five-win win streak to end the preseason is about as valuable as the money you find in Monopoly.

They were nice and it showed the potential that still lies within the Magic roster, but they are not much of an indication of the direction the Magic will go.

Anyone who is trying to make some kind of prediction about the Magic is trying to figure out exactly what they have on the roster. They have seemingly been doing that since the rebuild began and the pieces to this roster came together.

Like last year, everyone on the roster and in the organization talked about making this the year the Magic would turn the corner and begin competing for something more than “progress” or ping pong balls. Except this time, the Magic have a new coach in Scott Skiles who seems to be demanding a lot more from his team and has the experience and will to whip the team into shape.

Everyone senses the Magic will take a step up this year, how much though remains unknown. And predictions from the outside run the gamut.

There are those who believe the Magic will make the Playoffs. There are those who believe the Magic will make small progress. And there are those who believe the Magic could remain where they are at as a sub-30-win team and collecting ping pong balls praying for the next star.

Where do I fall? I joined Zach Links of Hoops Rumors to answer a few questions about the Magic’s somewhat uncertain future and where they might fall this year:

"Hoops Rumors: If you had to call it today, what kind of record do you see the Magic finishing with in 2015/16?Philip Rossman-Reich: I think the Magic could finish anywhere from about 40 wins to back down to 28 wins again. They could show modest improvement, extreme improvement, or no improvement. This is largely the same roster as last year, so to expect the team to take a huge step up seems pretty far out there, though not impossible. Internal improvement and a better, more directed coach should mean improvement from last year. And significant improvement at that. I have the Magic winning about 32-36 games and I think they take a step forward as a team and improve pretty significantly this year, bringing a lot of promise for 2017."

So put me squarely in the incremental improvement camp for this year.

This is still virtually the same roster as last year, and as I have noted before, a lot of what this season is going to be about is making internal improvement to reach the team’s goals. It would take some tremendous improvement to make a 15-win gain to get to 40 wins and compete for the Playoffs.

That does not mean this season cannot be a success. A more modest 10-win improvement would certainly show the team is trending in the right direction with the right coach leading them forward. The team just has to move forward this year really to achieve what it wants to achieve.

It might seem like setting the bar a bit low because I am not expecting the team to reach that ultimate goal of making the Playoffs. But there will still be tangible success and the heightened expectations will come as the team gains more experience.

Next: Orlando Magic close out preseason with more good and bad