This was supposed to be easy, right?
The Orlando Magic's two young stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner would continue their undeniable climb up the rankings. The team's acquisition of Desmond Bane would give the team some necessary spacing and another attacker to boost a lagging offense. And the team would always have its defense to lean back on.
To say the least, through 42 games all of those things have not come to pass.
Banchero and Wagner have had extended absences due to injury and, while growing in many areas, have taken a step back in some meaningful ways this season.
Bane has not been a completely clean fit. He is shooting a career-worst from three and the Magic are struggling to generate the 3-point volume that made him so attractive.
The team's defense? It has been wildly inconsistent as the Magic focused on playing faster on offense. They have fallen out of the top 10.
It has been an uneven season for the Magic to say the least. They have not quite reached their potential or the expectations and standards they have set for themselves.
But all is far from lost.
Despite the Orlando Magic not being who they thought they would be, they are still 23-19, 1.5 games behind the struggling New York Knicks for third place.
So even though the Magic have struggled to win consecutive games for more than a month, they have not lost pace in the race for homecourt advantage or a top seed in the conference. Everything is still in front of them.
Orlando is teetering on the edge, though. The team has played for more than a month like one of the worst teams in the league. The Magic are lucky to have gone 9-9. It is a testament to the overall talent level on the roster. But it is also a missed opportunity.
Things are going to change one way or another. The Magic are either going to get everything together and make a push up the standings or they are going to continue floundering and quickly find they have run out of time to meet their expectations.
The next 20 games will determine the Magic's season. And there are still a lot of questions to answer.
1. Is the problem truly just health?
The coping cry for many Orlando Magic fans -- and perhaps even some within the organization -- is that all the Magic need to do is be healthy to right the ship.
There is enough evdience that their best basketball -- and a potentially elite level of basketball -- will come when all the pieces they envisioned are in place and in rhythm.
They may have something of a point.
The Magic's opening night starting lineup of Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter has a +18.0 net rating in 117 minutes (122.6 offensive rating/104.6 defensive rating). Even though that group has not played together since Dec. 7, it is still the sixth-best lineup by net rating that has played at least 100 minutes.
Orlando has not had its best players on the floor at the same time this year. That is inherently lowering the ceiling and what they are capable of doing. And so the Magic cannot make too many conclusions about their roster or their season.
They have survived because they have far more talent and offensive capabilities. But they need to see their whole complement.
2. Is Jalen Suggs the difference?
Still, the Orlando Magic have not performed particularly well since Paolo Banchero returned. Franz Wagner is still ramping up. And so the Magic need a little time to get their feet back under them.
For all the talk of plus/minuses and on-court/off-court stats when it comes to the Magic, everyone is missing the big piece of the puzzle. And it has become a bit of a crisis for Orlando that the team's energy and intensity come from one player.
Jalen Suggs is that important to the Magic.
Orlando has a +10.1 net rating with Suggs on the court including a 116.1 offensive rating and 106.1 defensive rating. That is by far some of the best marks on the team.
Suggs supercharges this team's defense more than anything else. And Orlando's energy has been wildly inconsistent since his injury in Las Vegas. Even in the game he played against the Chicago Bulls, he was such a positive impactor.
It feels essential the Magic get Suggs back for the long term to reach their full potential.
3. Which Paolo Banchero will the Magic get?
It is hard to avoid the conversations about Paolo Banchero.
A former number one pick with all the tools to be an elite player in the league and be the fulcrum and leader of a playoff-level team, who has struggled to find efficiency and be the leader for this franchise. The Magic are all-in on him, and there is no hint that the team regrets giving him a max contract.
It is everyone else wondering if he is worth that much. And, thus, wondering if he puts a ceiling on the Magic's potential.
Orlando already went all-in by acquiring Desmond Bane. The team believes in him and is not about to abandon ship. But, to be clear, the Magic's fortunes and futures depend on Banchero figuring it out, whatever that might be.
Banchero struggled at the start of the season with his jumper, especially. He just looked a step slow. A strained groin knocked him out for 10 games, and he was again slow to return to form.
Banchero is averaging just 20.9 points per game and is shooting 26.9 percent from three. That is a low in scoring since his rookie year and a career-worst in 3-point shooting. Efficiency is the biggest criticism of Banchero, but he has bounced back to shoot 45.2 percent from the floor and 50.9 percent on 2-pointers, the same percentages as last year. But his 48.4 percent effective field goal percentage is the third of four years he has been worse than 50 percent.
Banchero is averaging a career-high 8.8 rebounds per game, and his 5.0 assists per game are in line with his career bests.
In his last 10 games, he is averaging 23.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game and 6.3 assists per game. He is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from three for a more respectable 52.8 percent effective field goal percentage.
Those numbers are encouraging. But the Magic have struggled to gain ground with him as the main anchor, even while playing well. It still feels like Banchero is trying too hard to fit in with the team and it has not felt like he can take over a game, especially when the team is struggling to execute.
Every other issue for the Magic is just window dressing. They need the best version of Banchero to become a title-contending team. Until then, the Magic are just trading on talent.
4. What role does Anthony Black play?
Anthony Black is one of the big reasons why the Orlando Magic are still able to talk about achieving their goals of getting homecourt advantage in the Playoffs. With all the injuries, Black's emerging confidence has been a revelation and kept the Magic competitive and able to win every game.
Black was our MVP for the first half of the season for this reason. He bailed the Magic out of a lot of trouble.
He is averaging 15.9 points per game and 4.0 assists per game, both career highs. He is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from three.
Since joining the starting lineup after Franz Wagner's injury, Anthony Black is averaging 19.6 points per game and 5.3 assists per game with 47.9/39.4/77.5 shooting splits. He has been a constant source of aggression going to the rim and a reliable 3-point shooter to boot.
The question is how do the Magic manage him when Jalen Suggs returns? Is it as simple as returning to the starting lineup that works? Do they bring Suggs back slowly off the bench and see if that works? Does Black respond to coming off the bench?
In theory, having another great scorer off the bench would only make the team better. More good players is always a good thing. And Orlando desperately needed another attacker off the bench to boost one of the worst scoring benches in the league (Moe Wagner's return should also help).
There is simply going to be a new dynamic when Suggs returns. And it will disrupt the balance of something that is working with Black.
5. Is there more than a salary dump at the trade deadine?
The midpoint of the season means the NBA trade deadline is on the horizon. And that is always a bit of a stressful time. Teams are all exploring ways to improve their teams or set their books up for their future.
The Orlando Magic are in an awkward position.
They should be looking to buy and add players to improve the roster. Like last year, it feels like health will be the biggest acquisition they can make. So the Magic are not likely looking to disrupt the apple cart with so little information they have on their roster.
But Orlando has another clear goal at the deadline. They are roughly $5.6 million above the luxury tax line. It would make economic sense to make sure the team ducks under that amount to avoid starting the repeater clock with Paolo Banchero's extension kicking in next year, putting the team above the first apron.
It is hard both to add to the team and look to cut this significant amount of money. The kind of players the team can get in return is simply far too limited. And it would take a true discovery to find a player who can make a major impact on this team.
It feels like all the Magic will do at the deadline is try to dump a salary -- Tyus Jones is the one involved in most rumors -- for second-round picks. They may try to be a third team in larger deals.
There is still an open roster spot to hit the buyout market after the deadline passes. Orlando could explore a veteran there. But those players rarely have as big an impact as the names they sign would suggest.
The Magic are going to ride with the players they have.