The Orlando Magic did not have a lot to celebrate in the 2021 season.
Their carefully stacked deck of cards finally collapsed under the weight of injuries to two starters, the pandemic season loosening details for a roster that was carefully calibrated for success and the general staleness that comes with veteran players stuck on an inert roster.
The Magic had played with virtually the same players for several years. While they reached the relatively modest heights of a first-round playoff exit, they were struggling to breakthrough. With just two playoff wins to their names and contracts starting to run out, the Magic moved on.
What was left was a completely different team. A team that did not really even get a chance to get their feet under them.
The final 20-plus games were great for experience for young players who struggled to find their footing with their previous teams — even the holdovers from the Magic. It wiped the slate clean for everyone.
The Orlando Magic have wiped their slate clean as they prepare for the 2022 season. But they can learn some things from the lineups that worked for them last year.
Things have only changed dramatically since then. And trying to predict what this Magic team is going to do is a chore. Let alone trying to map out lineups and rotations.
Even coach Jamahl Mosley said he is not quite ready to predict or set where players will play or what combinations they will play in. He has taken to saying he does not want to put players in a box at this early stage of camp.
However, there is a deadline for all this. The Magic begin playing preseason games Monday in Boston. Soon, Orlando will have to make some rotation and combination decisions. And they will have to start getting ready to play games.
Orlando undoubtedly will play a different style this season. Mosley will imprint his identity and style on the team. At this point, there are only guesses as to what that is.
Still, it is not like this team is coming from nothing. The majority of last year’s team is returning and they have at least some track record of playing together that Mosley can draw upon as he is trying to determine playing groups.
In this sense, figuring out workable playing groups and settling on a rotation may rely on what was successful for the team last year. That is why we are looking back at the Magic’s most successful lineups from last year and how the Magic can try to replicate.