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Four players to watch as Orlando Magic’s season nears its end

By Justin Szemes

ORLANDO, FL - APRIL 12: Cole Anthony #50 of the Orlando Magic dribbles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs at Amway Center on April 12, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - APRIL 12: Cole Anthony #50 of the Orlando Magic dribbles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs at Amway Center on April 12, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /
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After back-to-back playoff appearances, the Orlando Magic are currently sitting in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and have begun to rebuild again. With the team fighting for Lottery position for the 2021 NBA Draft, wins and losses will not be a great gauge of success.

Yes, the Magic have won two of their past three games with two coming against teams at the bottom of the standings. Orlando’s schedule is about to get a whole lot tougher. But the team still wants to see itself grow and improve.

As far as building the team to be a championship contender it is clear the Magic are closer to the starting line than the finish line. The roster will undoubtedly look very different three seasons from now.

The Orlando Magic’s rebuild is just beginning and even as the team drifts toward the end of the season, there are still plenty of young players pointing to a brighter future.

The remainder of this season will be an opportunity for young players to show they can be a piece the team can move forward with.

Let’s take a look at four players who can use this time to develop and prove they can be an important part of the core moving forward.

Cole Anthony

Cole Anthony is coming off a great April averaging just more than 14.1 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.2-percent from the floor and 30.0-percent from deep. He is in line to win the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award for April.

But the most impressive part was the ability he has shown to be a playmaker. There has never been questions about Anthony’s ability to score the ball but being a good enough playmaker to be an NBA point guard has been fair to question.

This is the area that Cole Anthony, coach Steve Clifford and acting head coach Tyrone Corbin all pointed to as his biggest areas of growth.

It has been extremely impressive to watch his growth in this area and if he continues to improve to finish out the season, Anthony will be pushing perhaps to start at point guard next season and share the court more with Markelle Fultz when he returns from injury.

R.J. Hampton

R.J. Hampton was the key piece coming back from the Denver Nuggets in the Aaron Gordon trade.

Hampton is young and skilled but very raw thanks to his lack of playing time in the NBA. As he has played more, however, he has shown that he belongs.

Hampton has played more than double the minutes he was getting in Denver and has taken advantage, having his best game of the season Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 18 points in 30 minutes with 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc. He then followed it with the first double-double of his career in Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.

Hampton is averaging 9.8 points per game with a 47.7-percent effective field goal percentage in 24.0 minutes per game since joining the Magic. In his last 10 games, he is averaging 10.0 points per game. He has 45 points in his last three games as he continues to learn how to harness his speed.

Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

Much like Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton has the ability to light it up. They have the opportunity to form an impressive young backcourt next season.

Indeed, when the two players have shared the court so far this season, the Magic have a 114.8 offensive rating when the two are together on the floor. That is a huge number considering the Magic’s struggles offensively since the deadline.  The Magic also have a 123.8 defensive rating when the two are on the floor together. Rookies obviously have their struggles.

Hampton has to continue to become more consistent. He should work to improve as a free-throw shooter — he has made only 68.9-percent of his free throws — and continue to get comfortable using his speed.

Wendell Carter

Wendell Carter, just like R.J. Hampton was acquired at the trade deadline and has thrived with the added playing time of playing with the Orlando Magic.

Carter had a strong rookie season for the Chicago Bulls, followed by a  strong 2019. He was looking to be a key piece moving forward but seemed to have fallen out of favor in Chicago this season.

He struggled to stay on the court consistently and make his talent match his play. He seemed to lose confidence. The fresh start has helped him a lot.

As far as his skills go he is a great fit in today’s NBA. He has a good enough mid-range shot to keep opposing fives out of the paint and he rebounds well. Carter is averaging 12.5 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game since joining the Magic. He is hitting 52.5-percent of his shots including 37.1-percent on mid-range jumper.

To finish this season out, Carter simply needs to be more consistent. He has shown he does a lot of stuff really well and the next step is just to do it consistently well. Carter has been dealing with an ankle injury and has played limited minutes. It seems like Orlando will continue to limit his minutes for the foreseeable future.

Chuma Okeke

Chuma Okeke was the 16th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft for the Orlando Magic. The one thing that has impressed most about his rookie season is just the steady improvement.

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He has gotten better every month from the start of the season until now. Jonathan Isaac is better as a stretch-4 as opposed to playing the 3 when he returns next season from injury. With that said, Okeke can be a nice piece off the bench behind Isaac and Carter.

Okeke’s sense has impressed everyone. His play this year has been strong, averaging 7.8 points per game and shooting a 49.2-percent effective field goal percentage. Despite a weeks-long shooting slump, Okeke showed plenty of ability to hit from the outside.

To play the power forward slot, it would be nice to his rebound numbers improve from the just less than five per game average in April. With Okeke, the only thing he has to do is to continue to show the improvement that he has so far to finish out the season.

But a sprained ankle suffered last week may very well have ended his season.

It is easy to feel like there is a lack of excitement with the playoffs out of reach and most fans thinking about the Lottery. But there will be plenty of opportunity for most players on this Magic roster to finish out the season strong and earn opportunities beyond the main guys we talked about.

Next. Gary Harris scratching the surface on impact. dark

As a team it will be fun to watch them finish strong and build some confidence heading into next season when they will be joined by the most important part of the rebuild currently on the roster, Jonathan Isaac.