Orlando Magic’s 5 best options to hit the game-winner
Some of the best moments from any season come at the end of games.
The singular moment of taking and making a game-winning shot stays with players, with teams and with fans. They are indelible because of the enormity and pressure of the moment. You always remember game-winning shots.
When did Cole Anthony feel like he belong in the league? It was when he was inserted into the game late against the Minnesota Timberwolves after Terrence Ross fouled out that the moment found Anthony.
He was not supposed to be involved in the play, but he beat a Timberwolves player to a long rebound and did not have time to do anything else but run up the floor and heave a game-winning three for a one-point win.
A legend was indeed born.
Anthony would double down on that moment with a game-winning 3-pointer again against the Memphis Grizzlies later in the year. And his late-game exploits were not just limited to those big shots.
Orlando felt like it had a true closer — someone with the willingness, bravery and fortitude to take and make big shots. It takes that kind of attitude to hit these shots. A player needs a sort of swagger to want these big moments.
Regardless of their role or where they might actually fit in the bigger picture, teams want players with this kind of bravery. They want players who are not afraid of the moment.
It was no surprise then that one of the attractors of taking a player like Jalen Suggs with the fifth overall pick were his moments in clutch situations with Gonzaga.
Making a half-court shot in the Final Four is at least partially luck. The situation set up for Suggs to have an insane moment. But what stood out too was how calm Suggs was in taking that shot and rising to that moment.
Orlando clearly has a few options for that last-second shot. And with a season that many are expecting to be difficult when it comes to wins and losses, the best moments of the season and the moments that will point to the brightest future will likely come from who steps up in clutch moments.
Every win is going to be precious. And winning close games will be a sure sign of the team’s growth and progress.
The question will be who will get that last shot and where will the Magic turn?
It is something that will likely be by committee to start with and something the team continually evolves through the course of the season. But here is who has the chops to be the team’s closer.