3 Teams the Orlando Magic must leapfrog in the standings to take the next step

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers are going through a transition period with new head coach Kenny Atkinson looking to revamp the team's offense. Cleveland’s best stretch last season was when Evan Mobley and Darius Garland missed time, raising questions about how well the team’s big four actually fit together with their overlapping skill sets. Rumors even emerged that one of Garland and Donovan Mitchell would want out of Cleveland.

Now, after giving out some new contracts, the goal for Cleveland is to reach a high level of play while being able to incorporate all of their talent. The biggest question for the Cavaliers is how Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will fit together. Whether it is a scheme or progression as a 3-point shooter on Mobley's part, the Cavaliers are going to need some time with Atkinson to figure out how to optimize this roster.

Meanwhile, the Magic have mostly kept their roster intact and have a way of playing and identity in place. Continuity is going to be key for Orlando to get off to a strong start, which should give them an edge over the Cavaliers in the standings. They have hopefully also learned from last season and will have a low that costs them ground in the standings.

The Magic were close to securing homecourt advantage last season, and the talks were about learning from those mistakes and not taking games for granted. Now there are opportunities for Orlando to take a top seed in the Eastern Conference. They just need to take advantage of them and overtake teams that might struggle with injuries or figuring out fits and rotations.