What is missing from this Orlando Magic team to assure a Playoff berth?
Black: Consistency. Especially from Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier.
Rossman-Reich: Consistency is definitely a big thing missing. The Orlando Magic need more consistent play throughout the lineups. It feels like the team has gotten the boosts when they need it — whether it is the bench picking up a slow start or the starters bailing out the bench at the end of the games. But depth to me is a big thing. Consistency from the bench has been the biggest issue. We have seen the team fall apart with the bench in the game and Steve Clifford has had to jumble rotations. The lack of consistency from Evan Fournier has not helped matters either. So generally, the team needs to find is balance to succeed.
Palmer: Playmaking and shooting. Quite frankly, the Orlando Magic are starting to hit a roadblock on offense. We are 30 games into the season now and we are seeing the scouting report and subsequent defensive schemes change to adapt to Orlando’s new offensive system. The results have been horrendous for the Magic. Teams are blitzing the pick and roll and Orlando’s playmakers either are not all enough (D.J. Augustin) or not good enough ball handlers (Evan Fournier, Jerian Grant) to combat those blitzes. Additionally, teams are starting to leave a lot of Magic players wide open from three because they do not respect their perimeter shooting. Guys like Jonathan Isaac, Jonathon Simmons, Mohamed Bamba and Jerian Grant are being left virtually unguarded. It is disrupting the passing lanes for the Magic’s cutters. I do not really know if these things are fixable without trades. But at worst the Magic may need to make some scheme alterations to try and hide their susceptibility to these defensive changes.
Racine: The Magic need more scoring off the bench. They need somebody else to score besides Terrence Ross. One can argue Ross is the only player who can create his own offense or shoot off the bench. The Magic need to beef up the bench in order to secure that playoff spot.