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10 observations from the Orlando Magic’s first 10 games

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic have gotten off to a slow start this season. But there are signs of hope and concern. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic have gotten off to a slow start this season. But there are signs of hope and concern. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Mohamed Bamba, Orlando Magic
Mohamed Bamba is making progress for the Orlando Magic. But subtly and slowly. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

8. Mohamed Bamba is progressing… very slowly

The Orlando Magic are still a rebuilding team in a lot of ways. They have a lot of young players they want to develop and grow. To be sure, the young players are the team’s future.

The season is not a success without a playoff appearance. But Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz’s emergence this year is a good consolation prize if that continues. The important goal this year is to continue to map a path forward.

Mohamed Bamba is a big part of that future. There is still no denying this.

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    • Orlando made a sizable investment in Nikola Vucevic this offseason to keep the team competitive. But the team still has to hope and believe Mohamed Bamba is the team’s future. This gives them the time to develop him slowly and give him the chance to add strength to battle in the NBA.

    That development is going slowly, but it is there.

    Bamba’s stats this year are not super impressive. He is averaging just 5.0 points per game and shooting 36.2 percent from the floor. But he is averaging the same 13.7 points per 36 minutes as he did last year with increases in rebounding (12.3 rebounds per 36 minutes over 11.0 rebounds per 36 minutes) and blocks (3.1 blocks per 36 minutes over 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes).

    This is to say, Bamba is not playing the same minutes he did last year. Orlando is still limiting him as he returns from his leg injury from last year. But he is largely back to that same level. And that will allow him to begin growing as he plays more.

    Bamba is still a work in progress. He is still trying to understand defensive schemes in the NBA game and how to react more naturally on that end. While he is not blocking shots at the same rate, he is challenging shots a lot better.

    Last year, opponents shot 59.7 percent at the rim against Bamba according to Second Spectrum. This year, opponents are shooting 52.2 percent at the rim. Bamba is showing better positioning on that front. And he is doing a better job grabbing rebounds in traffic.

    In all, Bamba is starting to use his length to his advantage in a way that he was not even last year.

    The good flashes are becoming more regular. But he is still building up to a level of consistency. And Bamba is not filling up box scores. His improvement is a lot more subtle than that.

    But Bamba is definitely progressing.