The Orlando Magic find themselves in control of their bright future as they enter the season's final stretch. But there are still plenty of questions around this team on the court for the fourth quarter of the season that will be exciting to watch for the answers to.
Orlando was able to enjoy some new highs during the third quarter of the season, including a highly anticipated game on TNT on the national stage against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Some of the Magic's young talent were able to showcase their ability to the NBA world in that game, even without earning the victory.
Magic fans finally were able to get the satisfaction of their team being a part of the national conversation.
Stan Van Gundy making a case on the TNT broadcast for Jonathan Isaac possibly being the best defender in the NBA, or Shaquille O'Neal raving about the "Wagner bros." was pure gold for Central Florida.
The Magic also got to enjoy watching their budding young superstar, Paolo Banchero, on the national stage in Indianapolis for the All-Star Game. The Magic should be a more consistent and bigger presence at the showcase game in the very near future.
As a team, the Magic capitalized on some recent struggles by competition ahead of them in the standings with an 8-2 record in the last 10 games. They feasted on a soft spot in the schedule too. They are currently 36-26 their best record at this juncture of the season in over a decade
This record has the Magic sitting in the 4-seed in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Every game in teh final quarter of the season is going to be meaningful the rest of the way.
These are five questions to answer during the last quarter of the regular season.