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Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Vol. 27: A new future for the Orlando Magic

By Philip Rossman-Reich

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 22: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic goes for a lay up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 22, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 22: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic goes for a lay up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 22, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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D.J. Augustin, Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets
CHARLOTTE, NC – OCTOBER 29: Nikola Vucevic #9 hands the ball off to teammate D.J. Augustin #14 of the Orlando Magic as Dwight Howard #12 of the Charlotte Hornets watches on during their game at Spectrum Center on October 29, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Entering this season, everyone assumed the Orlando Magic were due for some modest improvements. But nothing too dramatic. I thought 38 wins was fairly optimistic and settled my preseason predictions at 35.

Safe to say, my expectations have changed after this teams start. Yes, the Magic have fallen back to earth and are hovering around .500. The last few weeks have reminded everyone that bad team from last year is still in there. After all, the Magic’s offseason saw only cosmetic changes. The team carried over the same starting lineup from last year for the first time in franchise history.

That is hardly going to inspire a ton of confidence in the team. So to get off to a 6-2 start and be at .500 as the team reaches the quarter pole of the season is surprising, to say the least.

But there is clear slippage. And the Magic can clearly fall back to the team they used to be last year.

Right now, it does not look like much is different for this Magic team. The losing streak has had a lot of similar elements to last year’s difficult losing stretches. Losing by 40 points at home to the Utah Jazz is plainly unacceptable.

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The team still has to get over this hump. But, at least based on early results, it feels like this team has something different about them. Their ability to gut out some wins was impressive. The Magic have to find that confidence again.

The simple answer to what is different about this team is their shooting. Last year, the Magic shot 44.0 percent from the floor overall (28th in the league) and 32.8 percent from beyond the arc (29th in the league). This year, entering Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Magic are shooting 46.5 percent from the floor overall (10th in the league) and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc (fifth in the league).

Going from one of the very worst shooting teams in the league to a top-10 shooting team in the league obviously represents a significant change. Even with the team falling back to earth, it sure feels like Orlando will remain an above-average shooting team.

There may still be some games where the Magic are absolutely abysmal. That is life without a go-to scorer. But the team certainly seems to be better offensively more often than it is not. At least for stretches long enough for their defense to get the job done.

The Magic are still settling into who they are. They might be an extremely streaky team this year. That is a lot of .500 teams.

But this team’s shooting seems fairly consistent and real. That is a good sign for Orlando and a reason to believe they will keep their generally good play going.

But, the team still shows plenty of its poor habits from previous seasons. The biggest problem is Orlando lets frustration take over  — especially when the team is not hitting shots. The Magic right now define themselves by their shot making.

They play well when they make shots. When they are struggling on offense, everything drops out. They are either a fairly average team with a strong offense or one of the worst teams in the league with no offense and no defense.