Orlando Magic Daily
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Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Time to believe in Magic?

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic will again rely heavily on their starting lineup, a group that proved successful in 2019. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Orlando Magic will again rely heavily on their starting lineup, a group that proved successful in 2019. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 18: The Orlando Magic celebrate during the game against the New York Knicks on November 18, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic find themselves in a strong position at the quarter pole of the season. Is it time to jump on the bandwagon? Where could they fall?

The NBA is not a variable league. Teams settle into their places very early on and it is hard to rearrange things from there. It is the most predictable of the major sports and one star can truly make a huge difference.

At the quarter pole of the season, the majority of the Playoff teams are set. Typically it is around 14 of the 16 teams. Last year on Dec. 1, 13 of the eventual 16 Playoff teams were in Playoff positions. There are always outliers, but congratulations on getting to this point at the quarter mark of the season. More likely than not, you are in it for the long haul.

After Dec. 1’s games, the Orlando Magic find themselves sitting in that driver’s seat. It may feel too early to care too much about the standings, but that may be somewhat clearly wrong. The Orlando Magic are two games ahead of the Washington Wizards for the final spot in the Playoffs just past that quarter mark.

The Magic are not about to rest on their laurels. Mostly because they do not have any to rest on. The Playoffs do not start in December and there is a lot of work to do. After all, the New York Knicks were one of those three teams sitting in the Playoff picture that eventually fell to the wayside — Kristaps Porzingis‘ torn ACL likely gets most of the blame for that.

But there is plenty of reason to believe.

Orlando statistically does not look great, still weighed down some from a poor six-game stretch to start the season. And the Magic have plenty of shortcomings from a group that is still learning how to win. There have been far too many blown leads and a reliance of winning close games — no team has played more to this point.

Yet, the team is winning. Their 11-12 record may not be a whole lot to be impressed with. But it is better than most Magic teams of the past six years at this point. And Orlando has gotten through a rough part of its schedule.

Is it time to start believing? How much should Magic fans buy into what they are seeing on the court so far?

There is obviously a lot of the season left to play and a lot of growth to come. But the first quarter to the season has seen the team take on a character of resiliency. And that has enabled the team to have a chance to win more often than not.

That is something, right?

The Orlando Magic Daily staff got together to assess what we have seen so far as the Magic embarked on this road trip and prepared for the next phase of their season.