5 questions the Orlando Magic face in the fourth quarter of the 2022 season
In some respects, the Orlando Magic’s season has gone exactly as predicted.
The team was young and understood even internally that wins were going to be hard to come by. As a team in the beginning stages of a rebuild, it made sense to be fine accepting the fate as one of the worst teams in the league and whatever the Lottery has in store for them.
Whether it was all worth it might depend on which number combination pops up on Lottery day in May.
In some respects, the Magic’s season has not gone to plan.
Nobody wants to be the worst team in the league — not at the start of the year, at least. Markelle Fultz‘s return to the court was delayed until after the All-Star Break. Jonathan Isaac has yet to return.
This is the Magic’s lot though. And they are trying to make the most of the group they have.
That has come in the form of the team starting to play with a more consistent identity. It is not necessarily translating fully into wins, but it is hard not to agree the team is playing better and with some consistency for longer periods of time. The Magic are starting to embody the things coach Jamahl Mosley spoke about in the offseason.
The Orlando Magic have started to find their way more consistently as they enter the final quarter of the season. Now the team squarely has its future in focus both on and probably off the court.
That kind of progress is a good thing for a young team. And it is vital the team still finish the season strong — despite whatever shenanigans that occur with a team near the bottom of the standings. At least individually.
Orlando still has about a quarter of its season left to answer these questions before the offseason. With this first full season of rebuilding under their belt, the Magic will be adding another high-level draft prospect to the group and they will begin making decisions on players with an eye on their ultimate future.
That is a lot still to get through in the final quarter of the season.
The Magic are not in a position to waste opportunities for their young players. And so these final 20 or so games are still vital for the team to push forward and improve. And there are still a lot of questions to answer, even with time running out.