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The Orlando Magic beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night by 4 points 123-119 in overtime. It was the Magic's 35th win of the season and they find themselves 9th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Magic are just 1 game behind the Miami Heat, their Florida State NBA cousin franchise, and 1.5 games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets who are 10th in the East.
The very last time the Magic made the NBA playoffs was in 2012. They were the 6th seed in the East that year and wound up losing 4 games to 1 to the then 3rd seeded Indiana Pacers. It was a different time for the Magic as their roster included center Dwight Howard, in his prime, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu.
Its been six years since that first-round playoff appearance. The 2019 season could very well be a 7th season of misery for Orlando Magic fans. In 2017-18 the Magic were 25-57 and 14th in the East. Therefore, this season has meant progress as they have 10 wins more and rank 4 places higher than they did last year. Unfortunately, it will not be enough for a return to the playoffs. Here are the reasons why:
#3 The Magic’s Schedule:
The Magic are in a tough spot. They are just one game behind the Miami Heat and 1.5 games up on the Charlotte Hornets. A strong push in the final 9 games of their season could see them secure the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. On the other hand, a losing streak could result in another disappointing season for the Magic. The Magic’s schedule suggests their organization will be spectators when the 2019 NBA season begins.
As of Tuesday, the Magic’s next five opponents are Philadelphia, Miami, Detroit, Indiana, and Toronto. Three of these 5 opponents are part of the East’s elite teams and Detroit is 6th in the East 2.5 games ahead of the Magic. The Philadelphia game is in Orlando, on Monday night, but the other games are on the road. The Orlando Magic are 13-22 on the road this season. It's hard to imagine them just keeping pace or moving ahead of Miami by winning one or two of those 5 games.
The Magic are 2-1 vs the Raptors this season, 2-1 vs the Heat, 1-2 vs the Pistons, 1-2 vs Philadelphia, and 1-2 vs Indiana. A record of 7-8 vs playoff teams isn’t bad. However, a sub .500 or .500 record in their final 9 games is not going to be good enough at this late stage of the season to secure a playoff spot. Orlando securing a playoff spot will mean Miami, or Detroit collapsing and going into slumps to close the season. Ultimately, even if that scenario occurs, the Magic must win their games.
#2 Team Stats:
The Magic are a team that struggles to produce points and at 106.1ppg they rank 26th in the NBA. Their offensive efficiency is also bottom third in the association at 22nd overall.
Further, many NBA games are decided late in the 4th quarter. However, the Magic’s 4th quarter scoring ranks worse than their overall points per game average. In the 4th quarter the Magic rank 28th at 25.2ppg according to teamrankings.com. The Magic are 23rd in 1st quarter scoring averaging 27.1 points to start games. This suggests that the Magic start games slowly and fade as the game is on the line towards the end. This is a bad combination when trying to find the will to overcome the one game deficit the Magic need to erase to catch and surpass the Miami Heat.
Defensively, the Magic average 5.5 blocks per game for 7th in the NBA. However, the Magic are not aggressive enough on the perimeter. They only force their opponents into 13 turnovers per game which leaves the Magic 27th in the NBA for that category. This is further verified by the fact that they only average 6.5 steals per game and are 28th best in the NBA.
#1 There is No Game Changer on the Roster:
There is talent on the Orlando Magic and its young talent. However, with youth comes inexperience and the long hard process of learning how to win basketball games. There are 5 double-digit scorers on the Magic’s roster led by Nikola Vucevic at 20.7ppg and Aaron Gordon at 16ppg. In fact, Vucevic averages a double-double with 12.1rpg. This means the 2018-19 season is his best yet. Vucevic was the only Orlando Magic player to make the NBA all-star game and it was his first selection in 8 seasons.
As athletic as Aaron Gordon is, he is only averaging 3.4 free throw attempts per game. He is not yet using his size, speed, and power to dominate his opponents by getting to the foul line. This is now his 5th season in the NBA.
On Friday night, Terrence Ross scored 31 points in the victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. However, Ross is averaging only 14.8ppg in 26.4 minutes per game. He is not a consistent scorer as say, Lou Williams with the Clippers coming off of the bench. The ultimate problem for Orlando is that none of Gordon, Fournier or Vucevic ever has extended stretches of taking over games by scoring at a high level. The Magic don't really have a player like James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo that they can lean on to lift the team to new heights right now.
The Magic have a mountain to climb with 5 straight games against Eastern Conference playoff-bound teams not to mention a late-season date with the Celtics also playoff bound as well. Further, the Magic’s season stats and young talent that still has not reached its full potential. This all but ensures the Orlando Magic will miss the 2019 NBA playoffs.
Guess the Lakers players!
