Although the Orlando Magic shocked the world Thursday night as they beat a Kevin Durant-less Golden State Warriors team, they know there is still something missing from the roster.
Something is missing.
With one clear glance, one would say it is Mohamed Bamba and Markelle Fultz. Those two players figure to be big parts of the Orlando Magic’s future and both are sidelined with injuries during this Playoff run.
The team is succeeding without these key players. And there should be plenty of excitement about welcoming them back into the fold whether it is toward the end of this season or next year. Adding them to the core with Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac (and for a short time, All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, perhaps) should have the Magic set up to compete for the Playoffs for at least the foreseeable future.
The team is competing for the eighth seed in the Playoffs but no one is under any impression the Magic are a finished product. This is still a rebuilding team. After all, the Magic’s All-Star is a free agent this summer with little guarantee he will return to the team.
As much fun as the team has been this year in the Playoff race. This is still a year to set everything up for the future.
Clearly, the Magic do not have a full roster of talent. The organization is expecting big things in the future from Markelle Fultz and Mohamed Bamba. And the organization obviously has ambitions beyond scratching and clawing just to get into the Playoffs — and at a record worse than .500 at that.
Could these two players become the stars the Orlando Magic need in order to contend for a championship? If not Markelle Fultz and Mohamed Bamba, how about Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon? And perhaps the bigger question: Can this core grow into a future championship contender on par with the team they defeated Thursday night?
After all, Gordon’s 22 points and 15 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors came in a win. Jonathan Isaac scored 12 points and caught a nasty alley-oop from D.J. Augustin in the first quarter. That has been part of a strong run of play for Isaac that has also focused plenty on his strong defensive presence.
Isaac is starting to shown signs he could potentially develop into a star in this league as he gets more comfortable on the court and completes his first full season in the league. Isaac is averaging 13.5 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc.
The organization looks to be trending toward those two as the future of the franchise. But the truth is, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic are the potential stars the Magic are grooming to lead them into the near future.
Both of them had a double-double in Thursday’s win over the Warriors.
Although the Magic won against the team that everyone is picking to win this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy, Gordon knows his team has dropped games against some of the worst teams in the NBA. The team was just one game removed from a crushing defeat to the Eastern Conference-worst New York Knicks.
Orlando has won nine of its last 12 games. But two of those losses came to the lowly Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. Those are both wins the team counted on to boost their Playoff chances. And those kinds of losses are still possible on any night.
A lot of that has to do with the fact the Magic have no stars on the team. There is no one who can create his own shot off the dribble and make tough shots in isolation. They have no one to close games consistently.
So far, Orlando has had to find ways collectively to get the job done. They have done so to mixed results. Evan Fournier has hit his share of game-winners this year. Terrence Ross has hit several big baskets as has Aaron Gordon.
But the Magic are 15-21 in close games (any game within five points with five minutes remaining) this year. Their 36 close games this season are tied for the third most in the league.
This is no disrespect. The Magic have made the best of the situation. But it has put them in plenty of precarious situations and left plenty of uncertainty late in games.
Orlando does not have a superstar player like a James Harden or a Kevin Durant on the roster. They do not even have a Jimmy Butler or Kemba Walker to take over games. So different players on the Magic have to step up collectively for the Magic to pull off close victories.
This weakness is going to be a key factor for the Magic down the stretch of the season when the pressure gets ramped up more and results matter more than process. It will matter too if the team makes the Playoffs. At the end of the day, games come down to players making big plays.
Orlando still has to answer who makes that critical last play with the season on the line.
If Gordon can continue to play the way he did Thursday consistently throughout the remainder of the regular season, then the Magic could make a Playoff push.
He does not have to average 22 points and snatch 15 rebounds, but if he could give better support to Vucevic as a scorer and rebounder and get near a consistent double-double, then the Magic will be fine for the rest of the season. If Gordon can bump his scoring up more from the 15.9 per game he is averaging this year, Gordon could get back on that star trajectory.
It is still unclear who will be that “second star” this year and who will emerge to be a player to build around for future Playoff trips.
The win Thursday night served as a big confidence booster for the team after its recent defeat. The energy around the franchise is the best it has been since the Magic burned off nine straight games after acquiring Gilbert Arenas.
Now the Magic should have their minds right and understand that they can no longer take any more nights off in route to the Playoffs.
And their key players have to know it is time to step up.