Reason #1: The Magic could be one of the better teams in the East next season
After the biggest offseason moves already went down, there are clear expectations for how the Eastern Conference standings will pan out. The Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers should form the top three.
Behind them should be the Milwaukee Bucks--if they are healthy--the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Indiana Pacers, and the Orlando Magic. Orlando is not in the same tier as some of those other teams yet. They still have some development and work on the roster to do before they can consider themselves real threats to the Boston Celtics.
And yet, the Magic could pull off some upsets and finish as one of the better teams in the East. They are set to have an incredibly strong defense once again and that goes a long way in the regular season.
The Ringer's Michael Pina already wrote a while ago that the Magic could potentially finish in the top three in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25. Likewise, Zach Lowe said on his podcast that he would not be surprised if the Magic finished the regular season with homecourt advantage for the playoffs.
There are still concerns about how this team will perform in the playoffs, mainly due to a lack of offensive creation and playmaking, but they are on track to be a great regular-season team.