3 Keys for the Magic to be contenders in the Eastern Conference this year

1. The bench continues to dominate

The Orlando Magic's secret weapon last year was their bench.

They were fourth in the league in bench scoring with 41.5 points per game. Their best lineup last year that played at least 48 minutes was the team's typical bench unit of Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac and Moritz Wagner (+21.2 points per 100 possessions with a 125.9/104.6 offensive/defensive rating split).

The Magic's bench was a key to the team's success last year. And, as you may note, one of the players from that bench group is no longer on the team. And another key player is also no longer on the roster.

Markelle Fultz and Joe Ingles are not on the team anymore. That is twokey playmakers no longer on the team.

The point guard problem rears its ugly head again. Orlando is going to have to replace that production and will turn to some unproven players.

But the Magic still have plenty of depth. They are going to be sitting some players who fans believe should be playing. But they will still need some players to step up.

That probably starts with Anthony Black.

He got his share of playing time, but still receded into the background as the season went on. Still, Black was not used like a point guard with a low 12.7 percent usage rate. He averaged only 2.8 assists per 36 minutes. Black was not much of a playmaker or creator last year.

The Magic will need him to step up into that role. Or they will need Cole Anthony—4.7 assists per 36 minutes—to take on that larger playmaking role. That is something the Magic are missing off their bench.

As successful as the Magic's bench was, there were holes too. Holes the playoffs exposed to some extent. The Magic averaged only 28.0 points per game off their bench in the playoffs (second in the entire playoffs, but still well below the team's regular season average).

Orlando is going to rely on its bench heavily again. Whether that is Anthony bouncing back from a difficult shooting season last year or Black stepping into the starting lineup.

Or whether that is relying on Gary Harris and Jett Howard to provide important shooting off the bench or Tristan da Silva stepping in wherever the team needs him.

Orlando should have players who can help off the bench. But the team is going to have to reconfigure its bench and its players' roles off the bench to make that success again.

And that does not get into how much more the Magic may lean on Franz Wagner to anchor those bench units—with the pressure that might come on him to be more of a playmaker and scorer for those lineups.

The Magic's bench could be a big key to the team maintaining their place and growing further.