5 measures for success for the Orlando Magic in 2024 (besides winning)
The Orlando Magic are not shying away from expectations this season.
They are talking openly about postseason ambitions and goals. They believe they were a solid team last year once everyone got healthy and they believe they can build on that success. It is not only a belief, it is a confidence.
The energy inside the AdventHealth Training Center is really hard to describe other than to say it is positive. There is a buoyancy about the team. There is certainly confidence in what they are capable of doing this season. But there is also a determination to get better.
This Magic team feels like everything is aligning for them. They are young and hungry. They are healthy and competitive.
The Orlando Magic are ambitious about what they can accomplish this season. Getting to their goal though will take improvement in several areas to build their spot in the postseason.
Only time will tell whether the Magic will take that next step and reach the postseason. Coach Jamahl Mosley will tell anyone that it is not about making the playoffs, but getting the details and preparation right every single day. Orlando’s goal is simply to play “better basketball” in a lot of ways.
And Mosley wants to make sure his team is focused on the process rather than the results.
As cliche as that might be, that is the most important message for the team. They cannot skip steps — another favorite coachism from Jamahl Mosley and Jeff Weltman this year — and get right to the postseason. It is something they have to earn. And so the Magic are trying to focus on the work that gets there.
"“I get that there’s going to be expectations,” Mosley told Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com in an interview before Media Day. “We’ve talked to each one of the players. Embrace whatever those expectations are. I also go into that saying we’re not going to change who we are and what we’ve done to this point from a work side of things. So, we’re going to work every day.”"
While fans are eager to see this team make the postseason and winning will increasingly be a key measure for the team’s success, that is likely not how the Magic are looking at things. Yes, the team wants to make the postseason and win more. Their goal is to learn how to win more consistently.
But the focus is on the elements it will take to win more. What needs to happen for the Magic to win this season?
In this way, measuring success is not just about wins but also about the foundations it takes to win more frequently. If the Magic put these things together, they should achieve those end goals.