Just three weeks into the NBA season, the Orlando Magic have established themselves as a surprise team. Everyone is wondering if it is for real.
It still feels like everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop with the Orlando Magic. What they are doing is too good to be true — it cannot possibly last.
The early season momentum will surely die off as the team comes back to Earth. The dream start has to end at some point?
Nobody had the Magic even sniffing the best record in the league after any form of significant time. At 5-2 entering Tuesday’s games, the Magic are tied for the best record in the league.
This was a team that won 29 games last year and made very few major changes. There were no big-name free agents coming to the team, their draft pick was a project not likely to produce this year.
Sure, Orlando could make some modest gains. But no one expected a huge leap. Much less, a Playoff appearance.
Everyone seems like they need to adjust their expectations again. As I said on the Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live, it feels safe to move the expectations up a notch (I am going from just outside the Playoff race to in the Playoffs now).
Whether everyone else is there or not. . . who knows?
At 5-2 after responding strongly to the loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the evidence continues to build that what the Magic are building is more real than not. They know how quickly things can collapse. But with each passing game, the way the team is playing becomes a bit more normal.
And now everyone is beginning to take notice.
On Locked On NBA this week, I went on with David Locke to discuss the surprise Magic and whether this thing could last:
As Locke points out, the Magic’s turnaround has come because a lot of players who were a negative last year have turned into a positive. Their added depth has also provided a huge boost. The Magic were a team of league average players last year. This year, they have turned into something else. And their bench has maintained the production. As Locke describes, they are now a 240-minute team.
It does not seem the Magic will keep up their hot shooting — they are shooting 48.7 percent from the field overall (third in the league), 44.1 percent from beyond the arc (first in the league) and a 55.9 percent effective field goal percentage (second in the league).
Then again, there is plenty of evidence at this point the Magic can keep this going. They bounced back from a poor shooting night in Charlotte with an incredible shooting barrage in New Orleans. Orlando has not played two poor games in a row and seemingly have a new resilience about them.
This does not feel like it is just continuity.
Now the rest of the NBA nation is taking notice. In a roundtable for ESPN.com, the Magic were the clear answer as the surprise team in the league. Amin Elhassen wrote:
"Anyone who doesn’t say Orlando is just being a basketball hipster. Regardless of whether you think it’s fool’s gold (second in the league in offensive efficiency fueled by an otherworldly improvement in perimeter shooting by Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic), for the Magic to sustain seven games of this productivity is nothing short of a miracle."
In the various power rankings that came out Monday, the Magic were the talk of the league. Everyone trying to figure out how real they are.
The ESPN.com crew ranked them 12th, up from 19th last week. John Schuhmann of NBA.com ranked them ninth in the league, up nine spots from 18th the week before. And Chris Barnewall of CBSSports.com ranked them eighth, up an amazing 17 spots.
NBA teams are not likely to pay attention to these trends. They know exactly what the Magic are doing. But everyone is starting to pay attention.
Next: Early season trends for the 2018 Orlando Magic
Very soon, the Magic will have to re-shift their expectations again. And they will not be sneaking up on anyone.