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5 measures for success for the Orlando Magic in 2024 (besides winning)

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic have shown shooting improvement, but it remains a key weakness for this team. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic have shown shooting improvement, but it remains a key weakness for this team. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat
After three years dealing with injuries, Jonathan Isaac is set to participate fully in training camp. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /

5 measures of success for the 2024 Orlando Magic (besides winning)

A Top 10 Defense

One expectation coach Jamahl Mosley is completely embracing and eager to see from his team is the expectation the Orlando Magic will be one of the top defenses in the league.

Jonathan Isaac said he believes the Magic can be a top-10 defense. The always boisterous and confident Jalen Suggs echoed that sentiment.

Mosley is not going to go as far as to say the team will be a top-10 defense, but he liked the confidence from his young team that they could accomplish that feat while making sure to note the team needs to make sure it does the work to build the foundations of a strong defense.

Without a doubt, defense is going to be the team’s identity. Mosley expects everyone to be better defensively — with a special focus on Paolo Banchero after he showed a lot more defensive energy in his role with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup. Mosley has said twice during training camp that the defense is ahead of the offense and that is a good thing for this team.

If Orlando is going to make the postseason, it will be because the team is solid defensively.

That is what helped turn around the season last year.

The Magic ranked 18th in the league for the season giving up 113.7 points per 100 possessions. From Dec. 7 (the start of the six-game win streak) until the Magic’s elimination from postseason contention on April 4, the Magic ranked seventh in the league giving up 112.9 points per 100 possessions.

That is an encouraging sign. Just as it is encouraging the elements that made it up.

Orlando ranked sixth in the league giving up 47.6 points in the paint per game. They ranked fourth in the league from Dec. 7-April 4 giving up 46.5 points in the paint per game.

This will be the basis of the Magic’s defense. They want to prevent and contest shots in the paint first and foremost, betting that teams will shoot poorer percentages from further out and that they can use their length to contest and make those shots harder.

That was a solid bet last year for this team and seems like a bet the team is willing to make again — even if that at times cost them from deep where they gave up the third-most 3-point attempts per game in the league.

Whether Orlando can get into the top 10 in defensive rating is certainly going to be a challenge. But it should be an achievable goal and doing so would almost certainly put the Magic on track for a postseason berth.

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