The Orlando Magic held the best stretch run defense and capitalized with a playoff berth. With an abundance of frontcourt players, how will they match up with the OKC Thunder in 2019-20.
In case you missed witnessing the Orlando Magic versus the eventual NBA Champion Raptors in the postseason they were better than their 1-4 record would dictate. In fact, had Toronto not added Marc Gasol at the trade deadline it’s conceivable that series would’ve gone much deeper. Gasol was the key to limiting Vucevic and the overall Raptor defense combined with Kawhi Leonard‘s otherworldly postseason was why Orlando was ousted.
Interestingly, Orlando’s President of Basketball Operations was Raptors Masai Ujiri’s right hand man for years and it’s easy to see his influence.
Overall, it was a solid season and a year of growth for Orlando who returned to the postseason for the first time in seven years. Nikola Vucevic earned his first All-Star nod and seemingly found a renewed role under Head Coach Steve Clifford which led to the big man averaging career bests in points (20.8), rebounds (12.0), and assists (3.8). He rewarded Clifford and the Magic by re-signing for four years this summer in free agency.
Orlando won the Southeast Division with a 42-40 record and down the stretch, the Magic was the best defensive squad in the association. In their final 19 games of March and April play, they made discernible leaps. That included a 13-6 record which boasted a plus 5.5 differential (10.8 in April) whereas on the season they ranked 14th with a plus 0.7 differential.
The Basics:
2018-19 Record: 42-40
Playoff/Lottery Seed: Seventh seed, lost to Raptors in the first round (1-4)
Head Coach: Steve Clifford begins his second season as the bench boss.
Points per game: Ranked 24th (107.3) | Opponent points per game: Ranked 5th (106.6)
Pace: Ranked 25th, (98.1) | Offensive Rating: tRanked 22nd (108.9) | Defensive Rating: Ranked 8th (108.1)
Vegas Odds:
Win-Loss: 41.0 games
Odds to NBA Title: +12313
Odds to Win Conference: +3819
* Odds courtesy of The Action Network.
The OKC Thunder swept the regular-season series against the Magic. Next up, let’s look at the offseason changes made by Orlando and review what to expect when the team’s tipoff versus each other in their two contests.