A fully healthy Orlando Magic roster will make the postseason

It has taken far too long, but the Orlando Magic are finally approaching full health.

The assigning of Chuma Okeke to the G-League as he returns from a knee injury is the final piece in a puzzle that for a long time never looked like it would be completed.

With the organization looking increasingly likely to stand pat at the trade deadline, this group is the one they will attempt to ride all the way to the play-in tournament and hopefully, a postseason berth.

While that may seem a tall order, the Magic have just come back from a road trip in which they went 3-1, and have pulled out wins despite rookie Paolo Banchero hitting a (small) rookie wall.

If we take a look at the numbers for this Orlando Magic team, then there is a real reason for optimism they can make the playoffs this season.

We have already devoted plenty of time to Paolo Banchero and second-year marvel Franz Wagner. They are leading the charge for the postseason and are among the best young duos in the league.

But the story of this season really flipped once Markelle Fultz returned from injury. At this stage he is clearly a more valuable player in the NBA than former teammate Ben Simmons, and his impact is going far beyond the numbers for the Magic as well.

Jonathan Isaac continues to get worked into the rotation, and even Mo Bamba has shown he is fighting for his minutes in the last number of games (at least before his suspension that will have him out until Monday’s game in Chicago, if he remains on the roster that long).

The below graph does a fantastic job of illustrating the uphill battle the Magic have had in trying to win games while dealing with the kind of injury list that few other organizations can even comprehend.

With the injury bug being extinguished (for now . . . ), we can look at just how encouraging the numbers have been for a mostly healthy Magic roster recently.

The story of this franchise since 2013 has been one that has seen them generally languish in the bottom 10 of most of the meaningful categories in the league.

That narrative is changing, and in the last 15 games, the Magic have ranked 21st in offensive rating (113.9), 12th in defensive rating (114.5), 16th in effective field goal percentage (58.6 percent) and 17th in assists per game (58.1).

These numbers may not seem all that impressive, but they clearly point to a roster that is figuring out their strengths and is now a level above the bottom-dwellers in the league.

Head coach Jamahl Mosley will also be happy to see that the defensive side of the ball is where his side are making strides, even if they don’t always look engaged.

Unfortunately this means they are no longer serious players in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, but the reality is a healthy Magic roster is too good at many facets of the game to be bad enough to tank.

A welcome change, even if it is coming at the wrong time as Wembanyama looms over the NBA.

Being middle of the road in plenty of categories is all well and good, and it is leading to a higher standard of basketball. But this does not equal success to the level needed to get back to the playoffs.

But what the Magic have is an offensive savant in Banchero, and one of the best fourth-quarter groups in the league. Led by “fourth-quarter Franz”.

They are also getting to the line at an elite level, with Banchero spearheading this effort as a top 10 player in the league at getting to the charity stripe at 7.8 per game. The Magic sit a heady third in this category, at 27.3 attempts a night.

The franchise has gone 17-13 in their last 30 games, and are the only team to beat the Boston Celtics three times this season. If you have watched the Celtics play, then you will know how tall an order this is.

Returning to the higher defensive effort Mosley is forever trying to implement, and the Magic have held opponents to the 10th fewest field goal attempts (87.4) per night, more proof that the numbers are trending in the right direction for the organization.

The eye test backs this up, with the Magic active defensively and boasting players like Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. who are a presence in the paint. Both Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs are above-average defenders at the guard position. And Suggs in particular is improving at a fast pace.

The Magic have the 12th-hardest remaining schedule left in the league by opponent win percentage, and yet there is no doubt that they are going to pull out some wins against better opponents.

Conversely they are also likely to drop some winnable games. But the reality for the franchise is that they are getting better in many statistical categories, have an almost healthy roster and are learning how to win games they would have lost as recently as earlier this season.

If they continue to win games in the manner they have, and hunt down those above them in the standings, the Magic will make not just the play-in, but the postseason this year.