Orlando Magic’s top lineups of 2021
Cole Anthony/Evan Fournier/James Ennis/Aaron Gordon/Nikola Vucevic
+1.5 Net Rating (113.2 off rtg./111.7 def rtg.), 6 games, 69 minutes
In an ideal world, the team’s best lineup will be its starting lineup. That will be the group that plays the most minutes together and plays against the best lineups from the other team. If your starting lineup is winning its minutes handily, the team is very likely pretty good.
Part of the problem for the Orlando Magic last year was that they could not get a set starting lineup for long periods of time. The team trotted out 32 starting lineups last season.
That is not creating the stability in roles or playing groups a team needs to succeed. Especially a young team like the Magic.
Most of the lineup changes last year were not about who was playing better. It was all covering for injuries. The whole team was completely thrown out of whack.
Finding a quality and strong starting lineup is the key to a team’s success. Everything spins off of that.
This group may have played in only six games, but after Markelle Fultz’s injury, this was the team’s ideal starting lineup last year. The only thing that kept them from playing more was James Ennis’ injury issues and Cole Anthony’s extended absence.
It is safe to say the Magic’s whole starting lineup will change this year. And picking out the best players on the team from the tip is going to be a tough and tall task.
Does Jamahl Mosley entrust a rookie with the point guard duties off the bat? Does he stick with the energetic, but still flawed second-year player at point guard? How does he integrate veterans like Gary Harris or even possibly Terrence Ross?
More importantly, perhaps, how does he reintegrate injured players Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac into the rotation when they are ready to play once again? That occurring during the course of the season only makes that challenge more difficult.
Mosley has been coy about differentiating where players are at in the rotation or committing to player roles at this stage of training camp. He has said he does not want to put players in a box by narrowly defining roles or positions.
But the reality is he is going to have to make a decision on that soon. The Magic play a game Monday, after all.
So who is the Magic’s starting lineup?
Very clearly the team’s best lineup will have Jalen Suggs, the team’s most talented player. When he is healthy, it also will include Jonathan Isaac. Wendell Carter is the team’s best defender. And Gary Harris is probably the team’s most solid veteran at this point.
The question is how much faith the team has in Markelle Fultz as he comes back or whether Chuma Okeke or Franz Wagner can slot in comfortably at small forward.
Predicting a starting lineup on a roster that is so fluid is a difficult task indeed.
Proposed Lineup: Markelle Fultz/Jalen Suggs/Gary Harris/Jonathan Isaac/Wendell Carter
What are your favorite lineup ideas? Have any crazy lineups you want to see the Orlando Magic try? Let us know in the comments below and we will be sure to analyze them in a future post!