Orlando Magic Daily
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5 questions the Orlando Magic face in the season’s final quarter

By Ruben Badillo

Mar 5, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Verizon Center. The Washington Wizards won 115-114. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Verizon Center. The Washington Wizards won 115-114. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Frank Vogel, Orlando Magic
Mar 3, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel huddles up with guard Evan Fournier (10) and guard Elfrid Payton (4) and center Nikola vucevic (9) and Orlando Magic forward Terrence Ross (31) against the Miami Heat during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Orlando Magic once again are likely to miss the playoffs, despite hiring a new coach and adding veterans to the desperate team. There is still something to gain to end year.

The Orlando Magic came into the third quarter of the season looking to turn things around. As the season winds toward its final month, the Magic are out of the Playoff picture. The season has fallen flat.

The Magic had to make changes before this final push to preserve their franchise’s future rather than pushing in for a Playoff race. That does not mean the Magic do not have some intriguing questions to answer in the final 20-plus games.

Before the 2017 NBA All-Star Break, Orlando traded away forward Serge Ibaka to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a first round pick and swingman Terrence Ross. That was the beginning of the Magic’s changes.

Even though Terrence Ross makes the Magic a better defensive team, the Magic are still missing a few pieces to make them a playoff team again.

And overall, the Magic are definitely not happy with how things are turning out for this franchise this season.

"“The season to date has been incredibly disappointing,” Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Associated Press. “We didn’t expect to be in the mix for one of the top seeds by any stretch as we are progressing. Our hope was to get in there and make the playoffs.”"

Unfortunately for the Magic, the playoffs are around the corner and their time to make the playoffs is running out. Despite trading for veterans, and hiring a new, defensive-minded head coach, the Magic are once again in a spot they were not expecting.

Orlando finished February with a 3-7 record, all but sealing the Magic’s Playoff fate and a disappointing season.

While the team did have a terrible third quarter, we did see a slight improvement on the court. The Magic’s defense has improved with Ross’ addition to the team. At the end of February, the Magic ranked 21st in defensive efficiency. Before Ross joined, the Magic ranked 22nd in defensive efficiency. Not a huge improvement but it still an improvement.

Magic also improved their fast-break points per game, now ranked 10th in fast-break points per game. At the beginning of the third quarter of the season, the Magic ranked 14th in fast-break points. Ross has helped the Magic improve in small areas that the team needed help in.

The Magic still have a few games to go, but there are questions that they will have to answer before April.