While the Toronto Raptors would be the favorites going into the series, the Orlando Magic would make the series interesting and would be a lot closer.
This weekend the Orlando Magic were supposed to be hosting Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Playoffs.
Even in a fairly disappointing season, this would have been a momentous occasion. The culmination of a season’s worth of work and a time for fans in this city to celebrate their team and try to push them to an upset win.
Magic fans came out in full-throated support last year at the Amway Center for Games 3 and 4. Players said after the season and during training camp that their biggest regret from last season was their inability to get one of those games for the fans.
Part of the story for this season — really the entire story left for this season — was to see how the team would measure up in its second playoff appearance.
If the season returns, the NBA Playoffs will come quickly. It is not likely the Magic will play the final 17 games of the season. The postseason will begin fairly quickly after the season resumes.
As of now, the Magic hold the eighth seed. But everything points to the Orlando Magic passing the Brooklyn Nets for the seventh seed. Orlando trails Brooklyn by a half-game. The two teams are likely to play each other at least once before the season ends (they were supposed to play twice). The Magic already own a 2-0 season series lead.
But it is not certain what will happen or whether Orlando takes the seventh or eighth seed — let alone whether the season will resume.
The goal for the rest of the season is to win that seventh seed. That would likely set up another playoff matchup with the Toronto Raptors.
And this time, the series would play out far differently than last year’s gentlemen’s sweep in five games. There is no guarantee this happens — the Toronto Raptors lead the Boston Celtics by three games for second — but it still seems like the most likely playoff matchup for the two teams.
Both teams might have ended up in the same place as last year — in the 2-7 match in the Playoffs — but there are key differences for both teams from last year. It will be an entirely different series.
Our Philip Rossman-Reich broke down the potential matchup with Sean Woodley of Locked On Raptors on Locked On Magic earlier this week:
For the Raptors, the biggest difference is the absence of Kawhi Leonard. That is the difference between defending their championship and being just a power in the Eastern Conference.
That has not stopped the Raptors from being one of the very best teams in the Eastern Conference and the entire league.
Toronto is 46-18 behind one of the best defenses in the league. The Raptors are fourth in the league with a +6.4 net rating, posting the second-best defense at 104.9 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Like last season, the Raptors have used that defense to feed one of the best transition attacks in the league. Toronto averages 19.4 fast-break points per game, the most in the league.
The team rolled over its identity and has found new players to step in time and time again. Through injuries to several key players throughout the year, the Raptors keep banding together. They have done so lining up behind All-Star Pascal Siakam and veteran stalwart Kyle Lowry.
But this team is different. They are smaller, relying more on Fred VanVleet in the backcourt with Kyle Lowry. The team is a year older too. And that is seen most in Marc Gasol.
Marc Gasol stymied Nikola Vucevic throughout last year’s playoff series. But Marc Gasol has now been sent to the bench for Serge Ibaka. Ibaka is not that young either.
He has been rejuvenated playing at center, however. Ibaka is averaging 16.0 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, although he is averaging less than 1.0 block per game for the first time in his career.
Nikola Vucevic played only one full game against the Magic — injuring his ankle in the second game and missing the third game — and struggled shooting just 1 for 13 to score five points. But that was back when Gasol was still the starting center.
It will still be a tough series for Vucevic.
While Toronto has certainly had to adjust and juggle its lineup, the team has continued to get great contributions from veteran and experienced players.
Pascal Siakam was an All-Star at 23.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game with a 51.7-percent effective field goal percentage.
Orlando Magic
Kyle Lowry continued his strong play from last year’s postseason, averaging 19.7 points and 7.7 assists per game this year. While he has a history of being inconsistent in the playoffs, it was his stellar Game 6 in the NBA Finals that delivered the Raptors their first title.
He is a tough-minded player who has helped carry the Raptors through various points in the season.
But it has been the banding together of several young players that have made the Raptors contenders again despite losing Leonard.
OG Anunoby, who missed last year’s playoffs after undergoing an emergency appendectomy the week before the playoffs, is averaging 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Fred VanVleet built off a strong NBA Finals to average 17.6 points per game this year with 6.6 assists per game.
Norman Powell is shooting a 59.3 percent effective field goal percentage to average 16.4 points per game. Through all the injuries players like Terence Davis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris Boucher step in to fill big roles. It seems like someone new is helping the Raptors score a big win.
They have a lot of weapons and a lot of players who can contribute. It still comes down to Lowry and Siakam, the Raptors two All-Stars.
Defeating the Raptors is a tall order for sure. They are a tough team that knows their identity.
The Magic are different too. While they were not coming into the playoffs on the same tear they were on last year, they still figured to improve their standing in the league.
Orlando was ranked 10th in defensive rating, giving up 108.7 points allowed per 100 possessions. The Magic’s defense definitely needed to round into form again. That was one of the big struggles this season.
But the big difference between Orlando this year from last year — and even from the three times the team played Toronto before December — is the emergency of Markelle Fultz.
Markelle Fultz is a player who can get to the basketball at will and finish around the rim. He was growing in confidence as the season came to its pause.
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Although Fultz would be the new addition, the biggest change from last season would have to be Vucevic.
He had a terrible series last season when he averaged 11.2 points per game on 36.2-percent shooting and 23.1-percent shooting from three. After a consistent All-Star-caliber season, all his numbers were down from the regular season and the Magic’s offense cratered.
With a year of playoff experience behind them, the Magic surely expect Vucevic to improve. Just as they expect Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac (if he is health) to play better this time around.
Evan Fournier struggled especially last year. But his bounce-back season is another big reason the Magic should play better against the Raptors.
Last season, his shooting was down as he shot 43.8-percent from the field and 34.0-percent from three. In the Playoffs, he shot 34.8 percent from the floor and 23.5 percent from deep, including a frustrating 1-for-12 performance in Game 3.
But those percentages shot up this year as he is shooting 47.0 percent from the field and an outstanding 40.6 percent from three. His shooting will be pivotal to the Magic’s success in the playoffs.
Toronto is a different team for sure. They have found their groove. But Orlando is undoubtedly a better team too, even through its struggles.
The Magic are certainly more prepared to go through the postseason. They certainly will not be as wide-eyed as they were last year.
While the Raptors would be the favorites going into the series, the Magic would make the series interesting and would be a lot closer than last season’s five-game series.