5 Bold Predictions for the Orlando Magic’s 2020 Season
The Orlando Magic will not have an All-Star
Nikola Vucevic’s burst into the All-Star Game was a big part of the Orlando Magic’s turnaround last year. He had a strong season, averaging career highs across the board.
A player fans seemed willing and ready to move on from suddenly became indispensable. And he is still indispensable. The Magic need him to be the central figure of the offense, someone they can play and work off of.
Nobody is quite sure what Vucevic will do for an encore. As a first-time All-Star at 28 years old, it feels like he is near his peak. While there are surely improvements he can make and Vucevic will remain a big part of the team this season.
The question is what does he do for an encore? And how much will coaches change their tune when Vucevic has the expectations to average the 20 and 13 he averaged last year?
Orlando Magic
Vucevic will have to match those numbers to get back to the All-Star Game. All while the Magic work in relative anonymity — their only national television appearance comes in March after the All-Star Break.
I suspect Vucevic will not match his numbers from last year. His impact will not be any less. But I think what will characterize this Magic team is their balance. Everyone is going to contribute and there will be a fair amount of balance.
Aaron Gordon is a popular pick for the Magic’s representative at the All-Star Game. I think he certainly could make it there — and might even be a more favored candidate with the expected jump in his game along with the “newness” factor.
But I also think Gordon and Vucevic will sort of cannibalize each other’s candidacy. Gordon will take enough away from Vucevic to knock him off the All-Star podium. But he will not do enough to get there either.
The Magic very well could get a representative as one of the top teams in the East at the time. So the coaches will pick one player to represent the whole team. This is a likely outcome.
But honestly, not having an All-Star is not necessarily a bad thing. The Magic want to build off-ball movement and player movement. That means everyone is contributing. I think the Magic’s more balanced approach will mean the team is shut out from Chicago.