Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Race to the finish
What do you want to see from the Orlando Magic the final week this season?
Ruben Badillo (@1RubenBadillo): I would like to see the Magic change their starting lineup and maybe insert Mario Hezonja and give Stephen Zimmerman some more minutes coming off the bench. At this point of the season, it would be best to give certain players a chance to play more with the team.
Philip Rossman-Reich (@omagicdaily): The Magic just need to continue to play hard. Really that is all you can ask for at this point. The team has kind of been resigned to their fate. You can feel the frustration still with the group and there is a bit of hopelessness. But I want to see the team continue to fight and still take some of these losses hard. It seemed they took the loss to the Boston Celtics really hard. Winning is nice. But the team does need to start building better habits — something they can carry over to next year.
Ricky Scricca (@scricca1): I would love to see the team start building chemistry among its younger players. That starts with giving Mario Hezonja as much rotation time as possible. There is nothing left for them to play for, so there is no reason to fear some healthy experimentation. Let the young guys play hard, play together, and just see what happens.
Orlando Magic
David Iwanowski (@davidiwan1): I just want to see the young core play well, whoever they decide are the important guys going forward. I would like to see Evan Fournier distribute a bit more, I would like to see Aaron Gordon score more consistently, and I would like to see Terrence Ross lead the offense. I just want some positive signs for next year.
Zach Palmer (@FmrTankCommandr): What I want to see is Marcus Georges-Hunt and Patricio Garino play meaningful minutes. The Magic have already “shut down” Jeff Green and given his minutes to Mario Hezonja and I believe they should do the same to Jodie Meeks. Jodie Meeks is obviously a much better player than Jeff Green but there is no reason for him to risk injury heading into free agency this offseason. If the Magic expand their rotation back to 10 players and sit Meeks both Patricio Garino and Marcus Georges-Hunt should see playing time.
Alvaro Grullon (@AlGrullonNBA): I would like to see the Magic continue to play Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja extended minutes. Gordon and Payton have been playing extremely well as of late and it is important for the two of them to end the season on a high note and continue to gain confidence heading into the offseason. I would also like to see the Magic provide Marcus Georges-Hunt and Patricio Garino the opportunity to showcase their skills in the final week of the season to see if their game can translate to the NBA.