3 Orlando Magic players ready for a bigger role

Wednesday night was a good one for the Orlando Magic, as they snapped a nine-game losing streak by defeating the L.A. Clippers in overtime at the Amway Center.

A timely win that highlighted some of what is good about this Magic roster in clawing their way out of an early 21-6 hole to eventually carve out the win. Head coach Jamahl Mosley’s big-picture plan for the group was on full display as well.

The Magic are starting to come together a bit more clearly now that they are healthier. While they are still waiting for Wendell Carter’s vital return and while Jalen Suggs and Chuma Okeke still deal with nagging injuries, this is as healthy as the team has looked. Soon that adjustment period to all the new pieces entering the lineup will end.

Pretty soon Orlando is going to be able to get a better evaluation of its roster.

In order to keep winning games the Orlando Magic need help from all corners of their roster, and these three players are ready for a bigger role right now.

The temptation to put Cole Anthony on this list was strong. After Markelle Fultz’s slow outing against the Clippers — he finished with a single point and four assists in 28 minutes — it may make sense to see if Cole Anthony can be the starting floor general for this group. Orlando is clearly committed to letting Fultz work his way back though as Mosley stuck with him to close the game.

But for now,  we are sticking with players more on the fringes, with Anthony still thought of as a core piece of what this organization is trying to build.

The games continue to come thick and fast, and the Orlando Magic play the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics twice each in four of their next five.

Here are the individuals who will be looking to stake their claim for more minutes, at a time when the Magic are going to be going into games as firm underdogs.

3 Orlando Magic players ready for a bigger role

3. Chuma Okeke

We start with Chuma Okeke, even though he is currently out injured. The fact he is unavailable is only highlighting his potential importance to this group, and why he should be given more minutes as soon as his body is able to handle the load.

Okeke is averaging the 11th most minutes per game on this roster (21.8), despite the fact he does some things that few others on the roster are capable of. He is a wing defender with the body type and skill set that most contenders would love to have.

He is not exactly Jaylen Brown though. Offensively his 5.4 points per night on 30-percent shooting from deep are not moving the needle. In the last eight games (the amount Okeke has missed), the Magic’s defensive rating of 117.2 (25th in the league) has matched that of the rating the team had when Okeke has been out there this season (117.1).

That might not bode well for Okeke, but who do they have on this roster who is able to defend a star like Zion Williamson? Jayson Tatum? Devin Booker?

Again Okeke has a long way to go as a defender, and these players will still generally get the shots that they want.

But as we have seen before, Okeke has the body type and movement to slow these guys down in ways that nobody else can. Ideal as it may sound to have Bol Bol haunting these guys everywhere on the court, that is not sustainable for 30 minutes a night and he is needed in the paint.

Give Okeke five more minutes per game to start with, and good things can happen.

3 Orlando Magic players ready for a bigger role

2. Gary Harris

After missing the start of the season through injury, Gary Harris has returned and flown under the radar. He averages the seventh most minutes per night (25.8), and interestingly has kind of taken Terrence Ross’ role (10th, 23.9 minutes) on this roster as his own.

Harris leads the Magic in 3-point shooting, a scorching 43.5 percent on 3.8 attempts per night, with Ross coming in just behind at 38.5 percent on 4.2 attempts per game. We continue to mention Ross here because the two are closely linked, and their skill sets mirror one another.

Both are ideal trade candidates in the future as well, although Ross is the needed veteran leader of this young group. Which is why it makes complete sense for Harris to see the court more. He can boost his trade value, and help the Orlando Magic to win some games while he’s at it.

The Magic shoot 33.5 percent from deep as a team. Give Gary Harris more shots and a bit more run with floor spacers like Bol Bol and Mo Bamba, and that number is sure to increase. He has barely had any time next to Markelle Fultz either, a point guard who is always going to find him when open.

On paper, there is no reason why Harris should not have an increased role going forward. He helps the franchise in the present, and he can help them in the future if he is traded for an asset of some kind. The $13 million he is making this year and next before becoming an unrestricted free agent is extremely appealing to other organizations.

3 Orlando Magic players ready for a bigger role

1. Moe Wagner

Moe Wagner’s return from injury eight games ago has felt like a new signing for the Magic. He has burst back onto the scene, starting four of those games and muscling his way straight up to eighth in minutes per game (25.6).

He unlocks different kinds of lineups for this roster, and can play both as a center, or else a more physical forward next to Bolb Bol (and the sorely missed Wendell Carter when he returns) on the court. He has a field goal percentage of 48.4 percent, which is good for fourth on the team.

Whenever he checks into a game he brings a controlled, but frenetic, energy that has been seriously lacking in some of the more damaging defeats this season. The team has an improved defensive rating of 112.7 when the elder Wagner is on the court.

If one player encapsulates what coach Mosley is trying to do, it is this guy. Although listed at a shade under seven feet, he does not feel like a traditional big man. Even if he does not stretch the floor and offensively is limited.

But there is a willingness to play hard in every game that, if given more of a chance, would surely rub off on his teammates.

Consider this. Think of how hard Wagner plays now, and the good he is able to do in a limited role. Now imagine the games actually meant something, and the Magic were fighting for seeding in the playoffs.

This is Wagner’s true beauty and why he needs a bigger role ASAP. If the organization is serious about winning some games, and that could be up for debate, then everything he does helps them to achieve that goal. Career highs in points (11.3), rebounds (7.5) and assists (2.6) with a Player Efficiency Rating of 15.9 (it was 11.5 when he got to Orlando), summarize this nicely.