One thought and idea animated the Orlando Magic ahead of their offseason.
The day after Game 7, when president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman addressed the media, he made it clear that when the team was healthy, they were pretty good. They just were never healthy enough to see it long-term.
They saw enough of it during the Playoff series with the Detroti Pistons.
Weltman, perhaps, was painting a positive picture then. But the numbers backed him up.
The starting group posted a +11.6 net rating (117.3 offensive rating/105.7 defensive rating) in 182 regular-season minutes and a +14.7 net rating (115.5/100.8) in the playoffs.
The Magic at least have some backing for this suspicion that injuries were the problem and that a new coach can unlock a new level.
No one likely predicted the team would go to this extreme to run things back. The team only shed Moe Wagner and Jett Howard -- two players who were rarely in the rotation -- and added Nikola Vucevic. There will be a lot that will be the same.
Of course, Sean Sweeney is the new coach. He will change some things. He will have different rotation ideas. Things will not be the same. Players will be used in different ways.
But with so much the same as last year, the Magic can draw on that experience. They can say definitively which lineups work and which ones will likely lead to trouble and should be avoided. That is something of an advantage as Sweeney looks to find the right combinations.
And despite the immense hand-wringing surrounding the team and the lowered expectations nationally, the Magic were still a 45-win team last year and had a lot that worked.
The Magic's top five lineups reveal a lot about what can make this team successful.
1. Without Franz
Jalen Suggs/Desmond Bane/Tristan da Silva/Paolo Banchero/Wendell Carter
Regular Season: +10.8 net rating (116.1 offensive rating/105.2 defensive rating), 259 minutes
Playoffs: -16.0 net rating (84.0 offensive rating/100.0 defensive rating), 11 minutes
The Orlando Magic played the majority of last season without Franz Wagner. It would make sense that they would eventually settle on a makeshift lineup that could carry them through those games and keep them competitive.
The easiest thing to do, of course, is just do a position-for-position swap. That is what Tristan da Silva did, giving the team some needed spacing while maintaining size.
Da Silva had a solid season last year, averaging 9.9 points per game and shooting 37.4 percent from three. The Magic are expecting another solid leap from him this year.
Da Silva, though, struggled mightily in the Playoffs. He got passed in the rotation for Jamal Cain in the end, with Cain starting for Franz Wagner after the injury in Game 4.
Cain earned it with much better play. Da Silva averaged only 4.1 points per game in the playoffs last year, making only 31.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
The question entering the season rotation-wise is whether the Magic will keep Wagner as the anchor for the bench units. But this is a group the Magic will turn to often next season.
Suggested Tweak: Jamal Cain for Tristan da Silva - +5.2 net rating in 15 minutes (regular season); +7.8 net rating in 37 minutes (Playoffs)
2. Black and Suggs together
Jalen Suggs/Anthony Black/Desmond Bane/Paolo Banchero/Wendell Carter
Regular Season: +6.9 net rating (109.8/102.9) in 238 minutes
Playoffs: -34.5 net rating (100.0/134.5) in 53 minutes
The goal for any team is to get the team's five best players on the floor. That is why the Orlando Magic need to think about exploring Paolo Banchero-at-center lineups to get Anthony Black in the lineup.
Black undoubtedly had a breakout season last year, averaging 15.0 points per game. His play in December kept the Magic alive. And he was vital to the team's success.
Black is still searching for consistency. He struggled in the playoffs as he returned from a late-season abdominal injury.
But he clearly has a critical role somewhere on the team. He pairs well with any players who has a decent shot -- -1.3 net rating with Paolo Banchero, +4.4 with Desmond Bane; +5.5 with Franz Wagner and +13.5 with Jalen Suggs.
The Black and Suggs numbers are certainly surprising with neither being a true point guard and neither with a consistent shot. But they can unleash a lot on defense.
Bane would still be a weak link, but this could be a strong defensive group.
Suggested Tweak: Franz Wagner for Paolo Banchero - +51.6 net rating in 29 minutes (regular season)
3. The Starters
Jalen Suggs/Desmond Bane/Franz Wagner/Paolo Banchero/Wendell Carter
Regular Season: +11.6 net rating (117.3/105.7) in 182 minutes
Playoffs: +14.7 net rating (115.5/100.8) in 61 minutes
The entire offseason has been based on the assumption that the Orlando Magic's starting lineup, with more time together, would be one of the more dominant lineups in the league.
This has been the basis for the Magic's entire offseason and holding the ship steady despite all the frustration from last season and the feeling that the team failed to take a critical step forward.
Indeed, the Magic's starting lineup was the ninth-best lineup by net rating that played at least 150 minutes. They had the best lineup in the Playoffs that played at least 50 minutes that was not from the San Antonio Spurs.
This group works well together. There is no denying that.
There were 16 lineups that played at least 150 minutes last year and had a net rating of +10.0 points per 100 possessions. The Orlando Magic joined the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons as the only teams with at least two lineups that meet that criteria.
And the Magic had a third lineup -- Anthony Black, Desmond Bane, Tristan da Silva, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter -- that was at +9.2 points per 100 possessions.
The hope is that they can continue to build on that with a new coach and in a new season.
The strength is clearly on defense. Offense would remain an issue for the team. But with an elite defense, there is a lot less pressure to be so dominant and efficient.
The group just works.
Suggested Tweak: Goga Bitadze at center - +11.1 net rating in nine minutes (regular season); +72.0 net rating in six minutes (playoffs)
4. Stepping in
Anthony Black/Desmond Bane/Tristan da Silva/Paolo Banchero/Wendell Carter
Regular Season: +9.2 Net Rating (116.2/107.0) in 175 minutes
Playoffs: +200.0 Net Rating (200.0/0.0) in 1 minute
The Orlando Magic dealt with several major injuries throughout the season. In December, they were playing without two starters, with Franz Wagner nursing a high ankle sprain and Jalen Suggs dealing first with a hip contusion and then with a sprained knee ligament.
The Magic had that stretch through December and January where the team essentially traded wins and losses. That is where the inconsistency in the lineup and the team's depth got absolutely stretched.
What should be clear from this list is the Magic had a lot of successful lineups that they turned to. But they got stretched thin. And several key players -- Jalen Suggs with his shooting, Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva especially -- struggled in the Playoffs.
This is a good example of this. The Magic still had a lot of success with a lineup without two starters. It was finding lineups to fill out the rest of the rotation that was the trouble. The Magic would lose games based on bench production.
Black and da Silva struggled in the Playoffs. That was a big factor for the Magic. But they delivered in the regular season. And in the right role and with the right minutes, they can certainly deliver. That is what they proved.
The Magic can run lineups with players like Black and da Silva along their star players. That duo with Paolo Banchero had a -2.0 net rating. And so this was one of the few lineups where it worked.
With Franz Wagner, they had a +8.3 net rating.
Banchero clearly needs all the best shooters around him that he can. But clearly surrounding him with good defenders helps too. And that is what the Magic are trying to figure out.
Suggested Tweak: Franz Wagner for Paolo Banchero - +33.5 net rating in 38 minutes (regular season); +100.0 net rating in 1 minute (playoffs)
5. The most-used bad lineup
Anthony Black/Desmond Bane/Franz Wagner/Paolo Banchero/Wendell Carter
Regular Season: -4.7 net rating (110.1/114.8) in 115 minutes
Playoffs: -100.0 net rating (0.0/100.0) in 1 minute
The Orlando Magic were a 45-win team. They had plenty of lineups that worked successfully throughout the season. That should be evident.
What should also be clear is that the Magic's best lineups did not get to play long enough. They could not build rotations off their best units and ensure that they had workable units out on the floor all the time.
Jamahl Mosley was constantly tinkering and having to work around all the injuries with a roster stretched thin. And he left some good lineups on the cutting room floor during the Playoffs. It was a constant search to find something that worked.
The difference for this team is literally having a full complement of players.
That is not everything, though.
There are still loads of questions about how Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner work together. The duo had a measly +4.5 net rating (113.7/109.3) in 429 minutes this season -- it was +3.8 in 2025 and +1.7 in 2024. They are still subject to lineups like this one.
Adding Desmond Bane was meant to make things better by giving them more spacing. But clearly, the team still needs more shooting. Or more reliable shooting.
That is why Jalen Suggs appears to have more value, because he can catch fire and is a far more effective catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. Suggs made 39.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last year, according to Second Spectrum, compared to Black's 34.2 percent.
The lineups Black works best with also have shooting, and so it is typically good to have him not be around Banchero -- the duo have a -1.5 net rating when they share the floor with a 110.0 offensive rating.
Suggested Tweak: Nikola Vucevic at center
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