Lakeland Magic’s season ends in heartbreak, but plenty will realize their dreams

The Lakeland Magic’s season ended in heartbreak as they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in overtime. But they can count many successes.

No matter the competition, the object is to win.

Yes with the G-League the goal for many of the players is to showcase their talents to one day get called up to the NBA for a long-term contract. The NBA teams view it as a bit of an incubator too, sending their young players to get playing time they might not get on the main roster.

The coaches are balancing this too.

They are trying to mold their team to win while at the same time giving their players a chance to shine. And then at the same time trying to run things in a way that theoretically will keep their players ready to play for the parent club when — or should — they call.

That goes with the constant changes to the roster too from players getting called up, sent down, signed and everything else.

It is no easy task to coach a G-League team. It is no easy task to win in the G-League.

So when there is a case where everything seemed to go right and the G-League experiment seemed to benefit the team, it deserves some recognition. That does not make the end of the season without a championship after coming up just short any less painful.

Especially with the way the Lakeland Magic lost Tuesday night in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Long Island Nets rallied from six down to start the quarter to take the lead late. Orlando Magic two-way player Troy Caupain sank a three with 22 seconds left to force overtime. Troy Caupain would hit another shot to give Lakeland a two-point lead with a minute to play in overtime.

The Magic would need one more bucket. Or one more stop.

Either way, as time expired, Theo Pinson got free a few feet behind the 3-point line and drained a three to give the Long Island Nets the 108-106 win and a spot in the G-League Finals. Just like that, the Lakeland Magic’s season was over.

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That is a tough pill to swallow. It is hard to see many of these players returning to Lakeland. There were not many players who returned from last year’s playoff squad — Troy Caupain (on a two-way contract) and John Petrucelli. The Lakeland Magic will begin anew next year.

But as an experiment of the G-League, it is hard to say the Lakeland Magic did not accomplish a lot.

The Orlando Magic’s two-way players shined throughout the season.

Amile Jefferson finished his G-League season with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He was once again a double-double machine at the G-League level. His final game for Lakeland was nothing short of a masterpiece, showing his varied skills.

This came a day after putting in yeoman’s work for the Orlando Magic in a blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors. His energy and play helped the team cut the lead to eight points late.

He finished his season averaging 18.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Orlando coach Steve Clifford praised Amile Jefferson for his preparedness and approach. That is absolutely necessary for a player bouncing between the NBA and G-League so much.

The Magic’s other two-way player also played his role for them well. Troy Caupain scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, making only 7 of his 21 shots, however. Caupain has proven himself a scorer at the G-League level over and over again.

Both Jefferson and Caupain earned a two-way contract with their play in the G-League. The Magic simply did not have room or time to play them with the main roster. They should still find a way to catch on with a NBA roster somewhere.

Then there are the surprises the Lakeland Magic developed.

Guys like B.J. Johnson. He played in training camp with the Orlando Magic before joining Lakeland. He finished the season averaging 15.4 points per game and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. He is a versatile wing player that fits the modern style.

That is what the Atlanta Hawks saw when they signed him to a 10-day contract. And what the Sacramento Kings saw when they inked him for the rest of the season — before optioning him to Lakeland to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Johnson will certainly get a clearer NBA chance.

Johnson finished the conference finals with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

John Petrucelli, a stalwart from last year’s team, got some NBA buzz this year after averaging 12.1 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting. He scored seven points on an uncharacteristically cold 1 for 11 in Tuesday’s game. But that should not take away from another great season he had. He will get a look somewhere.

As should Gabe York, who has bounced around the G-League the last few years and had a solid season for Lakeland once again.

Then there are the players the Magic sent down to get seasoning. Melvin Frazier was picked as a still raw offensive player with defensive potential in the second round last year. Orlando clearly had the plan of sending him to the G-League for most of his rookie year.

Tuesday, he had five points and three blocks in the starting lineup. He still has a lot of work to do, but he very well could benefit from the same tutelage Khem Birch and Wesley Iwundu got last year to crack the Magic’s rotation this year.

Lakeland was able to have a lot of its cake and eat it too this year.

They won and advanced deep into the postseason. They had individual players show their skills and get NBA opportunities.

Coach Stan Heath and general manager Anthony Parker and his staff deserve a ton of credit for putting together a strong team and delivering a great season on the floor.

It hurts that it ended this way. They came so close to winning the championship. But the Lakeland Magic certainly have a lot to be proud of.