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Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Midseason misgivings

By Philip Rossman-Reich

MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 10: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic and Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks reach for a loose ball during a game at the Bradley Center on January 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 10: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic and Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks reach for a loose ball during a game at the Bradley Center on January 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks
MILWAUKEE, WI – JANUARY 10: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic and Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks reach for a loose ball during a game at the Bradley Center on January 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic have reached the midpoint of the season feeling a lot of disappointment. In this roundtable, the OMD staff looks back and ahead.

It is safe to say the Orlando Magic season has not gone to plan. Any plan.

At worst, everyone believed the team would be about as good as it was last year with virtually the same roster in place. The Magic believed they would see some improvements just from internal development and the same coaching staff. Everyone talked up the consistency.

Instead, injuries ravaged the roster and many of the schematic and intangible problems that plagued last season’s disaster. The injuries probably make the Magic worse than they actually are. But the plain fact remains: Orlando has the second-worst record in the league. After Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards, the Orlando Magic are in a virtual tie for the worst record in the league.

There might be quiet cheers for that fact. But it shows just how far the team still has to go.

The midpoint of the season could not come soon enough. At least as a point for some reflection on how the team got to this point. The 8-4 start is well behind the rearview mirror, a glimmer of what this season might have been. The reality looking forward is that the team is building for the future again.

And that future will mean changes to the roster — at last. The Magic cannot afford to roll the team over again. As the team passes the season’s midpoint, the focus shifts to the trade deadline and figuring out exactly how to make this team better.

Aaron Gordon‘s emergence, the promise of Jonathan Isaac and the potential of a high pick in this upcoming draft certainly provide some blueprint for the future. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman will begin shaping the team in his image and the way he wants.

We took the time at the midpoint of the season to discuss what the first half of the season held and what the future might be for the Orlando Magic.

Enjoy this Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable.