The Orlando Magic Are Currently Kicking Everyone's Ass And It's Time To Accept This Is Just Who They Are Now

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Every NBA season there's always at least one team that surprises everyone and takes the "leap". Last year it was clearly the Kings, and this year there are already a handful of candidates of teams you should now not only be paying attention to but make sure you're watching on a nightly basis. We've seen teams like the Pacers and Rockets show early signs of taking this kind of leap, even with the Rockets now being 0-7 on the road this season. 

Well now through about a quarter of the season, it's pretty obvious where the true leap team is going to come from.

No, you did not teleport back to 2008-09 or even the mid 90s. The year is 2023 and the Orlando Magic are legit no matter how you want to slice up their season so far. And I don't only say this because they continue to stuff my favorite team in a locker every time they play. When you think of teams that make the type of leap the Magic are currently making, there are usually some early signs that something like this is sustainable.

For nearly every rebuilding team that makes this jump, it almost always starts on the defensive end of the floor. The first step in any team making progress is figuring out how to get stops consistently. If you don't, nothing else will really matter. Just take a look at how the Magic have paced defensively as they've progressed through their rebuild. I'd say things truly started with the 2020-21 season, with this current group starting to take shape the next season. Here's how the Magic ranked on that end of the floor

Defensive Ranking

2020-21: 26th

2021-22: 19th

2022-23: 18th

2023-24: 3rd

Since Jamahl Mosley showed up in 2021-22, the Magic have certainly been trending in the right direction. Now jumping from 18th to 3rd certainly is surprising, but look at how the Magic have built their roster ever since that 2020-21 season. In the draft, they've added players that are big for their position like Suggs, Wagner, Paolo, and Anthony Black. You add that to a team that already had legit size and length with Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. Last February they signed another 6'11 center in Goga Bitadze who is currently having himself one hell of a breakout year for a reserve big.

The Magic have set the foundation for their rise the same way pretty much every other leap team was able to do. First, you focus on getting the stops. In each of the last 3 seasons, it was very apparent whenever the Magic would beat a good team that they were a bitch to play against, because their length at every position is a legit weapon. Even last season when they finished 34-48, their 19 wins against teams .500 or better were the highest of any Lottery team in the East. Considering in the 2020-21 season when this thing started they went 7-32 against teams .500 or better, it's not hard to see the progress. 

Once you figure out your defense, an important part of any rebuild is of course hitting on your lottery picks. It's hard to look at the Magic's recent drafts and find too many misses. Cole Anthony at #15 doesn't look like a bad pick given what he's turned into as a bench scorer, Suggs at #5 may have looked bad to start, but now he's starting to come into his own as well. Picking Franz Wagner #7 is a homerun. Paolo looks every bit the franchise player you would want with the #1 pick, so I'm going to say that's a hit as well. We'll see what happen with Anthony black (#6) and Jett Howard (#11), but the fact that Black has already started 12 games this year tells me he'll probably end up being pretty good as well. 

For teams like the Magic, hitting on these picks was crucial because how many prized free agents have we seen sign in Orlando recently? If you're a rebuilding team and you miss on your lottery picks, that's basically a death wish. The Magic have brought in guys that fit their style and how they want to play and look what's happened.

Once they had the defensive foundation and the intriguing young talent, the next step for the Magic was to find a way to become a functioning NBA offense. This was the area that was truly holding them back. Getting stops was great, but you also then have to actually be able to score in today's NBA. During this rebuilding stretch, you can see the Magic had a ton of issues here

Offensive Rating

2020-21: 29th

2021-22: 29th

2022-23: 26th

2023-24: 13th

Just like the defense, you can see a pretty big jump on that end of the floor as well. The question then becomes, is it even sustainable? I tend to lean "Yes" because it's not as if the Magic have been surviving the first quarter of the season by unleashing some sort of crazy outlier three point shooting or anything like that. They rank just 28th in 3PA, and are only shooting 35.4% as a team. Their 10.6 3PM is good for 28th as well. Usually when a team starts off hot from behind the arc and their offense looks insane (the 2022 Celts), it almost always comes back down to earth. That's not what's happening here.

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So how are the Magic doing this offensively? Well, they're 6th in points in the paint, which given their size doesn't feel like anything that would be unsustainable. That size has also helped them come in at 2nd in the NBA in 2nd chance points, again, nothing all that crazy. Their improved defense has helped them become the best team in the NBA at scoring off TOs (20.6), and because 65.3% of their shots are 2pt FGA (4th most in the NBA), it gives you more reason to buy into what we're seeing. 

You add all that up and that's how you build a 13-5 start and sit in the 2nd spot in your conference. The Magic have kept pace with teams like BOS/MIL in terms of their record against teams .500 or better (6-3). They're legit at home (8-2) and on the road (5-3), and as of the moment they own the 3rd best point differential in the East at +6.0. You go up and down the list and the Magic continue to check off every box that a contender normally would, including already beating BOS/MIL/DEN. 

Given that they play WSH today, my guess is this winning streak hits 9, and then with @BKN/@CLE/DET/CLE up next, would it shock anyone if this thing hit double digits? 

It shouldn't, because as weird as it may seem to some, the Orlando Magic are proving every night that they are legit and that maybe it's time everyone starts paying attention.