5 Bold Predictions for the Orlando Magic’s 2020 Season

Evan Fournier returns to his mean

Last year was a rough season for Evan Fournier. He shot 34.0 percent from beyond the arc. That was a low for his time with the Orlando Magic. The team has always relied on Evan Fournier being an efficient 3-point shooter.

Fournier, after all, is a 37.7 percent career 3-point shooter. The difference between 34 and 37-38 percent from three is 1-1.5 more 3-point makes.

That feels very small, especially considering how much Fournier shoots overall. But it is a big difference. 3-point shooting is still a difficult thing for the Magic. They lack a lot of shooters and floor spacing.

Fournier shooting below average last year hurt the team in a lot of ways. Especially in the playoffs when Fournier was an even worse 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Regardless of anything else, the Magic need 3-point shooters. And they need their best 3-point shooters — D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross along with Evan Fournier — to make 3-point shots. That is vital to loosening the defense and creating space for other players to attack.

That just did not happen last year with Fournier struggling.

Orlando’s 3-point shooting is a problem. But maybe not as a big a problem as people think. The Magic finished 11th last year in 3-point field goal percentage. They will make threes.

But this is a battle of perception over reality. The team needs the threat of 3-point shooting more than anything else. They need the defense to think they can hit threes and be a threat from beyond the arc.

That alone will change how teams defend them. It is vital that Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon become consistent threats.

But Fournier returning to the mean is most important of all. If the Magic want any hope of taking a leap offensively, they will need to see the 3-point shooting improve. And Fournier getting back to his mean will give the team another consistent weapon and another player with enough gravity to pull the defense apart.