The Orlando Magic made a 10-win improvement, but in the world of fantasy basketball, the inconsistency and development struggles did not bode well.
The Orlando Magic improved in many ways through the 2016 season. The team saw its win total rise from 25 to 35 wins and the team was seriously competing for the Playoffs for at least half the season. And, if the team could have gotten through its January and February malaise, was certainly competitive even later into the season.
In that team sense, the season was success.
Related Story: 2016 Season Preview with Red Rock Fantasy Basketball Podcast
From an individual standpoint, though, the season was certainly a frustrating one. The Magic left the season with a lot of questions as several key Magic players did not take the step forward many suspected, despite the record improvement.
And if you had any Magic players on your fantasy team, you were likely disappointed with how the season played out. No one really stood out.
This past weekend, our pal Josh Lloyd of the Red Rock Fantasy Basketball Podcast released his Orlando Magic season in review. He went hard on Scott Skiles and his management of the Magic lineup, expressing his disappointment in the Magic’s season:
Like I said, Lloyd goes hard on Skiles and his issues with the team. There are a few mischaracterizations — I believe the Magic were trading Tobias Harris anyway and it had nothing to do with Skiles . . . whether the trade was a good one is a debate for another time. But undoubtedly Skiles played a role in the Magic’s struggles in seeing the individual growth to provide a ton of confidence moving forward.
If Skiles had a problem it was that he cared so much about winning each individual game that he lost the forest for the trees. His decision to bench Victor Oladipo — or Evan Fournier — was necessary perhaps to win individual games but did little for their personal development. His reported clashes with Elfrid Payton in hindsight made clear why Payton struggled — although some of it certainly lies on Payton and his adjustment to a more regimented offense. And Skiles was notoriously tight with his leash on rookie Mario Hezonja, and Aaron Gordon did not gain his trust until later in the season.
Looking individually at the Magic’s core, there were a fair amount of questions that were not answered.
The expected “star leap” Victor Oladipo was supposed to make never crystallized. Perhaps not until after the All-Star Break like it did the year before. While his defense was consistent and he could fill up a stat sheet, it is still a divisive issue whether Oladipo can turn into the Magic’s star.
Nikola Vucevic showed some improvement defensively, but was still viewed as a defensive liability. He struggled defending pick and rolls and had his worst statistical offensive season since joining the Magic.
Payton obviously took a small step back, despite an improved field goal percentage. Hezonja and Gordon are still promising mysteries. Only Evan Fournier seemed to take a big leap forward.
The Magic wanted at least some of these questions to get answered.
It was still a positive season for the team. Just one that still has a lot of questions to answer about the team’s individual players and core.
Frank Vogel will certainly help get more out of this team and give them some more defined direction. By all accounts, he is better at developing young talent and a better, more constructive communicator while still providing the accountability a young team needs.
Vogel was about the best hire the Magic could make in the wake of Skiles’ resignation.
So there is plenty of hope for the future — not even mentioning the free agent room coming.
The 2017 season though will rely on whichever core players remain taking that step up and improving in the way fantasy owners can measure. If a team has good fantasy players, after all, it usually plays well in real life too.