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Eastern Conference Standings Check: Orlando Magic are in the race

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Paolo Banchero is already establishing himself as one of the best young players in the league as the Orlando Magic climbed into the postseason chase. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Paolo Banchero is already establishing himself as one of the best young players in the league as the Orlando Magic climbed into the postseason chase. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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For many outside of the league, Christmas is when the season really begins. It is the league’s showcase day with a day full of games to put the NBA front and center — no matter how mcuh the NFL tries to steal at least some of the spotlight.

This is not the start of the season of course. But it is getting closer and closer to the midpoint of the season. Incredibly the Orlando Magic are almost there having played 34 games already this season.

So Christmas, like we did at Thanksgiving, is a good time to take a step back and examine where the teams are at in terms of the standings. It is a good time to reflect on what the team hhas done and where it still has to go.

There are only so many good times do it.

As the NBA calendar moves past its marquee day on Christmas, the Orlando Magic find themselves squarely in the postseason chase in an Eastern Conference that has begun to sort itself more.

A lot has changed though in the last month since we last looked at the Eastern Conference standings.

The Magic back on Thanksgiving were drifting toward the bottom of the standings. At 5-13, the team was in the beginning stages of their nine-game losing streak and injuries remained the big storyline. Our headline that day was that Orlando had work to do to keep pace in the race.

None of this was a surprise. The Magic were a young team and needed time to gel and learn. The injuries did not help matters as Orlando had to scramble to fill its rotation.

Something has changed though in the last few weeks. A six-game win streak has turned into the Magic winning eight of their last nine games heading into the holiday.

They are doing it in a seemingly sustainable way too — relying heavily on their defense and being opportunistic with their offense. They are playing with a tremendous amount of confidence, unfazed by being down, offensive droughts or anything else. Coach Jamahl Mosley is pulling all the right levers.

It has left the Magic looking up at the standings at this point of the season rather than looking down at them. Orlando is squarely in the play-in/postseason race. And if the Magic keep up this level of play, there is no reason to think this team cannot maintain the confidence with the talent they have to stay in it for the duration of the season.

What are the Magic’s prospects? That will be completely determined by what the Magic do. As they get healthier, they will be able to show off the depth that they thought they had from the beginning of the season. They should also continue to improve as young players get better.

But with the NBA’s Christmas extravaganza behind us, it is time once again to take a look at where the Magic stand and where the Eastern Conference stands as the season inches closer to its midpoint and the playoff races really begin to heat up.