CBS Sports ranks Orlando Magic bench low too

After ranking the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup in the bottom 10, CBS Sports is also not particularly high on the Orlando Magic’s bench entering 2017.

The difference between good teams and bad teams often comes down to the bench. Most teams have NBA-quality talent that at least optically looks good enough to do something. Those crucial minutes in the second and fourth quarters though can make the difference between being a true contender or a bottom-run Playoff team or even worse.

The Orlando Magic do not have a great starting lineup. At least not yet. The team has a lineup full of questions and young players that need to step up. Questions are legitimate and with all that uncertainty the team is going to rank low.

A CBS Sports roundtable had the Magic with the 25th best starting group in the league.

That was generally fine. The Magic do not have a fantastic starting lineup — even by the most optimistic standards. The team is looking to be able to feed in the same level of talent throughout the game. They will try to win a lot of games by taking control in the second and third quarters and finding the right combination to finish. It is going to be a lot of finishing by committee.

This strategy is all dependent on bringing together a solid bench that can keep the pressure on and shifting the rotation to ensure there are still starters in the lineup at all times. Magic coach Frank Vogel has said he hopes to have a shot blocker — Serge Ibaka or Bismack Biyombo — on the floor at all times.

And having Nikola Vucevic or Biyombo off the bench along with solid players like D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green added to the roster should mean the Magic have a more reliable bench.

But there are still questions. And CBS Sports is not impressed — count them as very low on the Magic’s roster overall then.

In CBS’ ranking of the benches in the NBA, the staff ranks the Magic at No. 23:

"[Jodie] Meeks just had another foot surgery, Hezonja didn’t prove much as a rookie and nobody is excited about Green anymore. The Magic have two steady backup point guards — did they really need to sign D.J. Augustin when they already had C.J. Watson? — and probably the best backup center in the NBA in Biyombo, but this is clearly still a team searching for an identity. Who knows how the pieces will fit."

It all goes back to that identity piece. But the write up sounds vaguely optimistic.

Jodie Meeks‘ injury issues aside (the Magic signed C.J. Wilcox to address them it would seem), the Magic have some pieces that could help.

Mario Hezonja has to prove himself after an uneven rookie year. D.J. Augustin and Bismack Biyombo are both solid backups. And the Magic’s by-committee approach likely means the second unit will have a few starters sprinkled in. There will not be a pure second unit.

The outlook for the Magic from CBS Sports though is not particularly good. The Magic do not rank highly in terms of starting lineups or in terms of bench among the NBA.

It would seem the Magic are trying to fit the Utah Jazz’s ideal. They have an interesting starting lineup but a ton of depth — the best bench in the league according to CBS Sports. It is why the Jazz have quickly become the preseason darling in the league — the team that will jump into the Playoffs after a prolonged absence.

If Orlando finds and buys into an identity, then these rankings will almost certainly change. As with all these predictions though, the Magic are not there yet. They have too much uncertainty for prognosticators to buy in. There is legitimate and warranted doubt.

Next: Orlando Magic should remain active to improve roster

The Magic will be looking to prove themselves all over again.