Having undergone significant roster turnover this off-season the Orlando Magic have opened themselves up to some significant lineup change possibilities for this upcoming season.
It is that time of year again folks.
Most roster movement is complete and NBA coaches are wracking their brains trying to figure out which lineups they are going to want to experiment with in training camp and carry on over into the preseason and regular season.
The Orlando Magic start this season in a significantly different spot than last year.
First and foremost, new coach Steve Clifford leads a revamped coaching staff who is bound to bring new ideas and viewpoints to Orlando’s holdovers from last season.
Additionally, the Magic roster is very different than the previous year too. Out is Arron Afflalo, Marreese Speights, Bismack Biyombo, Shelvin Mack, Jamel Artis, Mario Hezonja and Rodney Purvis (in addition to the loss of Elfrid Payton and Adreian Payne compared to last year’s camp). In are Mohammed Bamba, Timofey Mozgov, Melvin Frazier Jr., Troy Caupain (who joined last year’s camp late), Isaiah Briscoe, Jerian Grant, Jarrell Martin and Amile Jefferson.
While, we can argue whether or not the Magic turning over the bottom of the roster (and if we are honest that Is what they did) will make a large difference in how minutes are distributed this year there is one thing that is certainly true: The Magic have a lot more versatility with this year’s crop of guys.
With these new players, the Magic have a lot of lineup possibilities. So let’s look over what the lineups the Magic could employ this season.