Opinions about the NBA and even the Orlando Magic run the gamut as we enter the quiet part of the offseason.
No one doubts their playoff credentials at this point, but everyone debates just how good the Magic can be.
There are arguments about whether Paolo Banchero is worth the max contract -- John Hollinger of The Athletic, leaning on his analytics models, is notably skeptical, but others think Banchero can be an MVP candidate this season.
There are arguments about Franz Wagner's ceiling and whether the Magic are truly ready to step up to this higher level of pressure. Pressure is a privilege, and these doubts and criticisms are all part of the equation.
Then there is the simple acknowledgment that this is a weakened Eastern Conference with two perennial contenders likely regrouping after their star players suffered major injuries. The Magic almost must take that step up this season and establish themselves before those teams inevitably bounce back.
The question is whether the Magic will actually do this.
The talent is undeniable. Banchero and Wagner put up numbers worthy of the max contracts they signed. The team has made the Playoffs the last two years with an elite defense. They are young enough to continue expecting internal development.
But are they ready to contend in the Eastern Conference? Are they truly ready to take that next step. It is fair to ask and there are other teams just as hungry with the potential to take that step up just as much as the Magic are.
That was the argument Jeff Teague made in saying the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks were bigger threats in the Eastern Conference than the Orlando Magic on his Club 520 Podcast (note: podcast is NSFW).
"The Magic ain't never won," Teague said. "Why do you keep talking about [them] like they are like that. We've [Teague played for the Hawks for most of his career] been to the Eastern Conference Finals, we know what it takes."
There is a ton of debate and discussion about the Magic and their place in the East, and who in the East they might be able to beat. That has been something they have been debating throughout the offseason. It is something everyone has debated this offseason.
The move to acquire Desmond Bane, a splashy and aggressive move that turned heads, seems to have lifted the team's expectations and hopes.
But, like every other team in the Eastern Conference, nobody believes they can do it until they do it. The Magic have not won a playoff series yet. It is hard to say firmly what this team can and cannot do.
Lacking winning experience
The point about winning experience is a fair one to make.
Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones are the only players who have been out of the first round on the Magic's roster, and they both did it together when they were with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Then again, the Magic added championship experience in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last summer, and that did not help much in the end.
Orlando has had several years with this same roster mostly intact, but they have not won in the Playoffs.
Getting playoff experience is still vital for this team.
The Magic know that remains one of the big goals for this season. They need to prove they can defeat the better teams in the league and advance deeper into the Playoffs. Orlando is not all-in on winning a championship this season. But the team is all-in on being on a clear championship trajectory.
The national media seems to watch the Magic, though, without the context of last season. They dealt with loads of injuries to all of their key players. They still managed to be second in defensive rating and finish at .500 to make the Playoffs.
This team has a strong place to jump from.
Everyone is in the same experience (or lack thereof) boat
But this is the same boat that almost every team in the East is in. The teams that have made it deep in the Playoffs are the ones struggling to keep up thanks to injuries. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers are not considered contenders this year.
Looking at the other top teams in the East, they are not exactly swimming in players who have won championships or even made it deep into the playoffs.
The New York Knicks are the obvious exception. They went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and they have been together for the last two years, for the most part, with some playoff success
The Cleveland Cavaliers have also made the second round each of the last two seasons -- although they ran into injuries in the Playoffs that cut their playoff hopes short, especially after last year's stellar regular season.
But the other upstarts along with the Orlando Magic -- the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks -- do not have that same playoff experience.
Jeff Teague is right that the Hawks have gone deep in the Playoffs before. But Trae Young has not won a playoff series since that 2021 Eastern Conference Finals season. Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu (in his rookie year) are the only players remaining from that roster.
Credit to them for grabbing Kristaps Porzingis, who was with the Boston Celtics when they won the title in 2024. That has elevated the Hawks into sleeper contender status. And Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been to two straight Western Conference Finals with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luke Kennard also went to the Western Conference Finals with the LA Clippers in 2021.
They have some experience to play with. But not experience together.
The Pistons do not have much deep playoff experience either, but they have a few players who have gone deep before.
Tobias Harris has won four playoff series in his various stops in his career. Caris LeVert was on the Cavs team that beat the Magic in 2024. And Duncan Robinson went to two NBA Finals (2021 and 2023) and another Eastern Conference Finals with the Miami Heat.
The Magic indeed might be the least experienced team among the title contenders in the Eastern Conference. But they are not too far behind. And they have their own experiences together to build upon.
Still, this is the question mark throughout the conference. Nobody is willing to predict a team to win until they do it.
Everyone doubts until you do it the first time. And the story of the East will be a lot of teams trying to prove themselves again. Including, and especially, the Magic.