The Orlando Magic had their breakthrough to make the playoffs last year. The team decided to bring everyone back. And so their hunger for more will be key.
Evan Fournier kept things pretty clear during a January win over the Atlanta Hawks. He and the rest of the roster understood the reality and urgency of their situation.
With Nikola Vucevic set to become a free agent and new management creating some wiggle room to make moves to change the roster, this was their last shot. Evan Fournier told the media in Atlanta the players knew this fact. This season — the 2019 season — was most likely their last hurrah together. It was their last chance to make something together.
A team can only go so long with virtually the same group without reaping some reward or finding some tangible result. The Magic had to perform.
They would rally to make the playoffs and go 42-40. The team embraced and celebrated on the floor in Boston in the penultimate game of the season, having clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth in seven years.
It meant a lot to players like Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic. They were the team’s tri-captains and had suffered through so many years of losing with this franchise. To make the playoffs in this place meant a lot to them.
No one would blame the Magic for being just happy to be in the playoffs. They did not play like it in stealing Game 1 from the Toronto Raptors. But it was clear the eventual NBA champions were too much for them.
The Magic liked enough of what they saw to believe they could do it again. Not only that they could do it again but that the 2019 season was not the best this team could be.
This team got a second chance to play together again, proving they could make the playoffs and win at a high level. That might be a time to take a deep breath and relax.
Of course, that would be folly. That would send the Magic back down the standings.
Orlando had reached a key goal and now there clearly has to be more. This is no time to rest on any perceived laurels. The journey back is still hard.
How does a team that is almost entirely the same as before do that? Especially in a league that is full of constant change. Standing pat seems wrong.
This team will have to work even harder. But there is still excitement.
The luster of the season has not worn off — nor has the distaste of how the team bowed out of the playoffs. Getting a deal done quickly was key for both Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. As Jeff Weltman said during the offseason when asked about free agency, he believed Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross wanted to be part of the foundations for this team and see it all the way through.
The general excitement expressed from teammates about their return suggests everyone is focused in on getting better. That is what Vucevic told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype his focus is on now that free agency is done.
"“We finally made it to the playoffs and a lot of us had been there in Orlando for a while and now we want to keep it up and do even better,” Vucevic said. “Sure, once you get that feel for it – once you know what it feels like to actually get that win and do something – you want to keep that up. Of course, I know everyone here is hungrier than ever and wants to do better.”"
That is a good sign, although it is hard to tell how much these players have been around each other so far this offseason. Players are more in and out of the Amway Center at this time of year as they take their vacation, do business promotions around the world and work with their own trainers.
But to hear that the team is not satisfied with just making the playoffs, as big of an accomplishment as that was, is good. It appears they understand last year was not the end of the road. There is plenty more to do.
Fans have expressed their concern Orlando is committing itself to the treadmill of mediocrity by doubling down on the current roster. They do not see a way to get out of the first round and really compete in the playoffs among the top teams.
Those concerns may have some validity. It is still unclear whether last season was an anomaly after six years missing the playoffs with many of the same players. This team still lacks a go-to scorer and true superstar. The margin for error for this team will remain small.
But the Magic are also still relatively young. Their starting lineup last year averaged out at only 26 years old.
Most of their players are in or should be entering their prime. There is still lots of room for Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac to grow — not to mention Mohamed Bamba and Markelle Fultz developing in the wings.
Orlando is betting that improvement will come through. The team is betting that experience will fill in the gaps that forced the crazy run to make the playoffs and help them throughout the entire season.
It is not a clear bet. Orlando may run into one of the biggest issues for NBA teams at any level — the problem of more, the name Pat Riley devised for the issue of managing competing interests in the face of success.
The Magic do not have the big issues the problem of more presents — it is typically associated with teams that are competing for championships. But things will have to be slightly different.
Players will take on more responsibility than they had last year. Money dynamics on the team have changed some. And the expectation for success is more present than ever. With the money the team has invested this year, Orlando has a playoffs-or-bust vibe.
Next year will be a new season for sure. It will come with new challenges. No journey is ever the same.
It will be important for the team not to be satisfied with their new contracts or new status as Playoff contenders. They need to know and expect more from themselves and from what they showed last year.
The early signs indicate the Magic are celebrating their team returning and are ready to get back to work.