The NBA season is quickly approaching. I hopped on with Locked On Fantasy Basketball to give a fantasy preview of the Orlando Magic.
The excitement for the NBA season is growing as the calendar turns toward September and counts slowly toward the opening of training camp, September 26 by the way.
Before then, there will be a few things to clean up. Fans eagerly await the release of NBA2K18 as a mini preview for the upcoming season. But everyone wants the real thing.
Not just to watch their favorite teams play, but also for the start of their fantasy basketball seasons.
Players on bad teams usually provide some good value. Someone has to score and produce for these teams, even if they do not get the wins that matter for the big picture, and eventually, someone breaks out. Or possibly the whole team surprises.
That is why for those who are looking to win their fantasy leagues, the players they pick from these teams could be critical. And that, at least, will get some people interested in the Orlando Magic, even if it is just peripherally.
In reality, Magic fans are at least cautiously optimistic about this upcoming season. If things break the right way in the weakened Eastern Conference, there seems like a possibility for the Magic to sneak into the Playoffs. That would require a lot of things to go right.
And most of it would come through internal improvement. The internal improvement the Magic have been hunting for the last four or five years.
Players like Aaron Gordon will intrigue, if be a bit risky. Then again, he will spend all of this year supposedly at the right position, which should help him increase his career-high 12.7 points per game and add to his rebound total.
Orlando Magic
Elfrid Payton will intrigue too because he should score a decent amount of points and rack up assists. Perhaps he can add a steal to his total. Nikola Vucevic is an automatic double-double for all his defensive shortcomings. And there are several other players who can fill up other lines in the stat sheet.
Orlando might be a better fantasy team than a real team. And adding some depth should help make the real team perform a bit better.
Only time will tell.
But for those preparing for their fantasy leagues, the Magic are still a bit of a mystery. And what is in store for each player will certainly have a major effect for the Magic this season.
With that perspective in mind, I joined Josh Lloyd on Locked On Fantasy Basketball to preview the upcoming Magic season from the fantasy basketball perspective. We talked about how the new players will fit in with the team and the outlook for the starters and what fantasy owners can expect from them.
On This Episode
- Can Jonathon Simmons challenge Terrence Ross or Evan Fournier to make the starting lineup? What will his role be with the team after his strong finish with the San Antonio Spurs last year?
- Should you look at any of the other newcomers for the Orlando Magic for your fantasy team?
- Will Frank Vogel tinker with the lineup all season or will the Orlando Magic settle on a core starting lineup?
- Where does Arron Afflalo fit in for the team and where does that leave Mario Hezonja?
- What will Khem Birch add to the roster coming from Euroleague?
- How does Jonathan Isaac fit into the lineup? What are expectations for Jonathan Isaac as a rookie this year?
- Where does Wesley Iwundu fit into the Orlando Magic’s picture in 2018?
- Did the end of last season prove Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton are underrated in preseason rankings?
- Where does Evan Fournier rank after his inefficient 2017 season?
- What effect does Terrence Ross have for the Magic? Can he find efficiency this season?
- Why is Bismack Biyombo getting drafted in fantasy leagues?
Be sure to check out Locked On Fantasy Basketball for all your fantasy basketball analysis. Josh does a great job going through games each day to discuss the fantasy impact and big performances for both season-long and daily fantasy games.
Right now Josh and Locked On Fantasy Basketball are wrapping up their season previews, going through each team’s fantasy outlook just like he did with me and the Magic.
Next: Leaked NBA2K ratings sure to make Orlando Magic fans upset
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