This offseason will have a lot of questions on who will remain on the roster as the front office continues to work to build this team toward a championship.
The Orlando Magic will look to build the right team around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and the playoffs will be a strong sample size of how to work on this team's flaws.
With the Magic in playoff contention, everyone got excited at the trade deadline with the potential to add to the roster. But the team stood pat, giving time to evaluate the roster fully.
But that time is ending. The team will have to make decisions and the final quarter of the season and playoffs will help them decide how to take the team to the next level.
The 2024 season has been a success already. The Magic have passed their win total from the previous season. Everyone's focus is on the playoffs and short-term success this season. But the team will also be logging the team's flaws as they aim for loftier ambitions.
This roster will be seeing changes and the rest of this season will be the showcase for players to display themselves.
Orlando Magic battling for playoffs, eyeing their future needs
Offense and Shooting
The most obvious problem lies with their offense. The Orlando Magic need a boost to improve an offense that ranks 22nd in the league at 113.1 points per 100 possessions.
Without addressing their first-round pick in the upcoming draft, the Magic have another first-round pick who is itching to get an opportunity. They should find a way to give Jett Howard a chance at the rotation. That will give the offense an immediate boost.
In the G-League, Howard has averaged 19.8 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent from three on 9.8 attempts per game. Howard's shooting and shot creation will do wonders for the Magic's offense.
But his playing time will depend on how serviceable he will be on the defensive side of the ball.
The Magic have some other shooters to develop and grow too.
Cole Anthony was recently in the middle of a slump struggling to do anything on the offensive end. In January, Anthony averaged 8.8 points per game on 37.5-percent shooting from the field and 23.8 percent from three.
Anthony is the team's sixth man and leader of the second unit. If Cole Anthony plays well, it spreads the floor for everyone else. He is someone who can attack and create for the second unit, unlocking the Magic's dangerous depth.
Anthony has recently emerged from his slump shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three in February.
Anthony is big in the locker room and brings contagious energy. The second unit is dependent on Anthony's level of play.
This has been an important resurgence for Anthony as the Magic continue their race for homecourt advantage. As games become higher pressure, this sample size will signify what version of Anthony the Magic can expect.
He is hunting for consistency. That is what he gets from a lot of his second unit teammates, especially Gary Harris now that Harris has returned to the starting lineup.
The Magic need shooting and veteran leadership and Harris embodies those two needs.
Harris is shooting 37.2 percent from three this season and is arguably the only player in the starting unit that brings gravity as a shooter.
Not only has Harris been a good shooter, but he has also been a good defender for the Magic with a +1.2 defensive plus/minus. This has been important as Orlando has not given up much if anything on the defensive end to add shooting.
Long term Harris does not bring in the playmaking aspect the starting lineup needs. But he is not a bad option off the bench. The question comes to this offseason where Harris will be entering free agency this summer.
Orlando just is not in the position to give up shooting.
The team has seen improvements from several shooters -- Paolo Banchero jumped from 29.8 percent as a rookie to 36.0 percent this year and Jalen Suggs jumped from 32.7 percent to 39.2 percent. Orlando has had some genuinely strong shooting moments.
But the team still ranks 25th in the league shooting 35.3 percent from three. The Magic take the second-fewest threes in the league at 30.9 per game. And that number is decreasing even as the team shoots better.
Defenses do not respect Orlando's ability to space the floor and this may be the team's biggest problem when they get to the Playoffs. The Magic need more outside threats to become contenders and everyone knows it.
Orlando Magic battling for playoffs, eyeing their future needs
Point Guard
The other big question the Orlando Magic need to answer sits at the point guard position.
Jalen Suggs has seemingly secured the shooting guard position. But at the point guard spot, the Magic have multiple options to fill in. It could also be where the Magic focus their offseason attention.
Anthony Black has proven he deserves a spot in the rotation. But he has not been able to find consistent minutes. And the Magic have not really used him as a point guard, despite that being his natural position.
The other options come with a lot of questions and seem to have hit their top roles.
Cole Anthony has carved himself a consistent role as the sixth man. Both Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris have been in and out of the lineup all season long. Everything internally seems to suggest Black is the heir apparent at point guard.
Playing in spots when needed both starting and off the bench, Black has played within his role on offense. Two indicators are his efficiency on the offensive end on 46.9 percent shooting and 37.3 percent from three. He also averages less than a turnover per game. That has been important in his minutes.
With that being said, Black earned his minutes with his defense. Black has been disruptive and has been a strong on-ball defender and the glimpse of having Suggs and Black in the same backcourt is a scary thought.
Anthony Black has earned the trust of coach Jamahl Mosley. But at the moment, he currently has too many players ahead of him.
Fultz's availability is the bigger question overall for the Magic. He is going to become a free agent in the summer and his shooting shortcomings and his injury issues -- he has played only 25 games -- are raising questions as the Magic get more consistent.
Fultz has worked extremely hard to get back to where he was last season but his body has failed him and time is not on his side.
The shooting slip and confidence has been the biggest story and what has put his spot on the team in jeopardy.
Fultz went from shooting 31.0 percent from three last season, which was a career-high and a 7.5-percentage point increase from the previous year down to 1 for 9 shooting this year. Not only has Fultz struggled to shoot the ball from three, but he is not even looking to attempt them.
In the modern NBA, it is important to spread the floor and keep the defense honest. That was the difference last season. Fultz was still a below-average shooter, but he was willing to take them. That opened up the rest of his game. He was able to play at his at his own pace.
At the moment, Fultz is still able to get to the rim at will, play strong defense, control pace and be the team's best playmaker. The ability to control pace and playmake is something this team needs.
Fultz is the best on the team at doing things that do not show up on the stat sheet. But the regression of his shooting and injuries has caused a change in his role as the season continues.
Orlando Magic battling for playoffs, eyeing their future needs
Center
Everyone's focus for the Orlando Magic has been on the backcourt, but the playoffs will be a major test for the team's interior defenders and future at center.
Wendell Carter has had a tough season thanks to the hand injury that knocked him out early in the season. His minutes, points, shot attempts and rebounds are down from last season. He is averaging 11.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game.
He is shooting a career-best 61.9 percent effective field goal percentage. There is hope in his offensive numbers. Carter has been an important floor spacer for the Magic.
Carter has continued to be a strong versatile defender.
This final stretch of the season and especially the playoffs will be a good look to see how Carter plays in a high-pressure situation and in playoff-style basketball. These final games will also have long-term consequences at the center position.
Carter has a lot to prove. And the Magic have to assess their depth at center this offseason.
Like Anthony Black, Goga Bitadze has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries throughout the roster at different times this season. Bitadze played well in his minutes averaging 5.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
But Bitadze does have his shortcomings. Bitadze is a good shot blocker and rim protector but does not have the defensive versatility to switch onto the perimeter. He does not have much to offer on the offensive end beyond putbacks and hard rolls to the rim.
While Bitadze is not a starting center, he has shown he can fill a role off the bench and be a backup center in this league.
With Bitadze also being a free agent this summer, he may walk during the summer and will make the Magic decide on what to do at the center spot.
They are comfortable with Moe Wagner as the backup big for his work around the basket. But that leaves them without a center who can protect the rim effectively.
Bitadze leads the Magic's centers giving up 54.7 percent shooting at the rim. Carter is at 58.5 percent. Jonathan Isaac, for reference, is at an incredible 45.8 percent.
Despite the strong season and tight race, the Magic are still flawed and this current roster will not be the final iteration of the team that will compete for a championship. It will be tricky to maintain the team's culture and still make important improvements.
But as the team needs to improve, contracts expire and players claw to find consistent minutes, this offseason will bring big change. The team first has to figure out what it needs from this playoff experience.