After beginning the NBA season with a stunning 4-0 record, The Orlando Magic have plummetted to the bottom of the NBA. Currently sitting at 13-19 in the East, the Magic have had a terrible first half to the season and will look to turn it around after the All-Star Break. Here’s how it has gone wrong.
Hot Start
After their electric start to the season, Magic fans got their hopes up. The team looked phenomenal, starting the season 4-0, which included a win against the NBA finals losing team, the Miami Heat. The best part of this start was the growth of the team had improved drastically. It was not just their star player in Nikola Vucevic leading in every category, it was an obvious full team win, and any fan watching that was able to see it. Things could not have started better for the Magic.
The Fall
After their hot 4-0 start, things began to fall apart. The team began to give up their new ways of team basketball, and player production began to reduce, and injuries began to take over. Players like Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, and Markelle Fultz began to drop their numbers. This lack of production forced star Nikola Vucevic to try to take over. With this, Vucevic has shown fantastic talent, earning himself the title of all-star, but without the team playing their best basketball, the Magic began to drop in standings. Injuries also played a part in the team’s failure. Affective players like Aaron Gordon have missed legitimate time due to injuries. The team began to look bad.
Magic Failure to Succeed In The East
Another part of this failure is the strength of the Eastern Conference. At the beginning of the season, the Magic picked up wins against many new-look teams, still finding their identities and building chemistry. Many of the early season wins came in games like this.
As the season has gone on, we have seen some below-average teams get some respect. Teams like the Knicks, Bulls, Hornets, and Pacers have all improved their teams significantly. No matter the matchup, these teams will continue to fight, and these aren’t even some of the best teams. The top teams in the East have not been this good in a long time. At the top of the conference, we have the 21-11 76ers. In third place, the Giannis run Bucks and the new-look Nets in second, who have won 5 straight road games and are the biggest threat to the title this year. The East is a very tough conference to play in as it has not been this good in a while.
Overall, there have been many things to make the Magic season the way it is. Whether it is how they are not playing as a team anymore, due to injuries, or due to the Eastern Conference’s strength, it has been a tough year for Orlando. They will look to strike back and turn the season around.