How big of a gap is there between the Raptors and Magic?

[LoveMyRaps]

The Orlando Magic finished the season 47-35, despite struggling mightily in the final stretch of the season, and now find themselves in a tightly contested first round series against a solid Cavs team.

Many believe that Orlando overachieved this season. But at the end of the day, they won 47 games and made the playoffs as a 5th seed in the East.

In terms of talent though - I don't see a wide discrepancy between the Raps and Magic, at least on paper.

Comparing the top 3 guys:
Scottie vs. Paolo (advanced stats favor Scottie)
Barrett vs. Wagner (similar playing styles, similar numbers)
Quickley vs. Suggs (Quickley better offensively, Suggs better defensively)

I think it's fair to say, they're pretty neck & neck.

However, when comparing both teams it becomes widely apparent that Orlando's length & defense, combined with their depth, is what separates them from us.

With OG gone, the Raps don't have a lockdown perimeter defender that can focus on defending players like Giannis, Tatum, Zion, etc. Orlando on the other hand, has Isaac, who's proven to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and an anchor rim protector. He can also chip in some 3s as a bonus.

Thus, acquiring that lockdown perimeter defender should be a top priority for this front office, ideally a 3&D guy.

Additionally, the Magic have one of the best bench units in the league (4th in bench scoring) consisting of Mo Wagner, Isaac, Fultz, and Cole Anthony.

The Raps on the other hand, just have two "reliable" players sitting on their bench - Dick and Olynyk. That ain't gonna cut it...

TLDR:
I think Orlando is a good measuring stick to see how we stack up. They serve as a good benchmark or point of comparison to evaluate our team and see what needs to be done in order to be a playoff team.

If the Raptors can somehow land a lockdown defender (via draft, FA, or trade) and add some production to bench, they can also end up winning 47 games in the next year or two. Easier said than done though...

[Senbonzakura]

What you're describing is exactly why I want Sarr.

Stretch big who can guard the perimeter and defend well inside.

[LoveMyRaps]

What you're describing is exactly why I want Sarr.

Stretch big who can guard the perimeter and defend well inside.

Excellent point.
Sarr fits the JJJ/Isaac mold very well. Would GREATLY help this team.

[C_Money]

They have a ton of depth. In terms of their starting lineup I don’t think they’re anything special and will probably get bounced to a Cleveland team that also isn’t very good.

[NotMyKawhi]

You can have lots of talent but the fit might not work(the sun's)

They fit together much better. Probably the 2nd best defensive team in the league. Suggs, Issac even carter, elite defenders. Wagner is pretty damn good too. They are way ahead of us considering they can keep all their main guys and sign PG

[LoveMyRaps]

You can have lots of talent but the fit might not work(the sun's)

They fit together much better. Probably the 2nd best defensive team in the league. Suggs, Issac even carter, elite defenders. Wagner is pretty damn good too. They are way ahead of us considering they can keep all their main guys and sign PG

Yeah, their defense is special. We lost Precious and OG this season, arguably our two best perimeter defenders, which doesn't help our cause.
I think the FO's acquisition of Ochai is a sign of things to come, i.e., they're going to prioritize acquiring defensive-minded players.

[DelAbbot]

You can have lots of talent but the fit might not work(the sun's)

They fit together much better. Probably the 2nd best defensive team in the league. Suggs, Issac even carter, elite defenders. Wagner is pretty damn good too. They are way ahead of us considering they can keep all their main guys and sign PG

Yeah, their defense is special. We lost Precious and OG this season, arguably our two best perimeter defenders, which doesn't help our cause.
I think the FO's acquisition of Ochai is a sign of things to come, i.e., they're going to prioritize acquiring defensive-minded players.

lol like they had been doing since 2017-2022?

The only non-defensive minded players they got recently are Flynn and Dick

[LoveMyRaps]

You can have lots of talent but the fit might not work(the sun's)

They fit together much better. Probably the 2nd best defensive team in the league. Suggs, Issac even carter, elite defenders. Wagner is pretty damn good too. They are way ahead of us considering they can keep all their main guys and sign PG

Yeah, their defense is special. We lost Precious and OG this season, arguably our two best perimeter defenders, which doesn't help our cause.
I think the FO's acquisition of Ochai is a sign of things to come, i.e., they're going to prioritize acquiring defensive-minded players.

lol like they had been doing since 2017-2022?

The only non-defensive minded players they got recently are Flynn and Dick

And we got a championship out of it in 2019.

But then Kawhi, Ibaka, Gasol, and Green all departed and we once again find ourselves in desperate need of lockdown perimeter defenders.

Look at our team from last year, the only "reliable" perimeter defenders we had were - OG and Precious. Both of those guys are gone now.

[Thaddy]

If we draft win now players and re-sign key pieces I could see us competing in the play in next year.

Poeltl - Olynyk - Chomche
Barnes - Holland
Barrett - Agbaji
Trent - Dick
Quickely - Collier

I would prefer S&T Trent for a stretch PF we could start instead. Ideally that would be PWill but that's likely outside our price range.

[Tor_Raps]

If defense wasn't a thing, we'd be very close to them lol

Sadly it's extremely important so we're about 2 years away from being where they are and that's if we hit on our picks/trades/signings.

[Los_29]

If defense wasn't a thing, we'd be very close to them lol

Sadly it's extremely important so we're about 2 years away from being where they are and that's if we hit on our picks/trades/signings.

Putting the ball in the basket is also very important. lol.

[Basketball_Jones]

Orlando overachieved this season. They could be really good if they add to what they have though. I don’t think their ceiling is too high with just internal growth.

[Tor_Raps]

If defense wasn't a thing, we'd be very close to them lol

Sadly it's extremely important so we're about 2 years away from being where they are and that's if we hit on our picks/trades/signings.

Putting the ball in the basket is also very important. lol.

Of course and they have a better number 1 option to do that than us in that department as well lol.

Getting a backcourt scorer will be Orlando's next big move and lucky for them, they have all the cap space/picks to make that happen this offseason.

[mtcan]

Before this season there was a huge disparity in terms of young talent. The mid-season trades changed the direction of the team and the amount of young talent.

No we did not tear it all down and build through the draft like Orlando. Instead...we acquired young guys who are a more known commodity. They are still younger than us but our team has more NBA and playoff experience.

We need a few more young guys that are lottery level talent but we have 3 former lottery picks from the past 6 years...a former #3, #4 and #13. Quickley isn't a former lottery pick but clearly is a good player with still some growth to come. That's a great place to start.

What we missed was an extended period of time to see all of the core of Barnes/Quickley/Barrett/Dick all playing together. Chemistry is important.

We have pieces...we just need them to get some reps together.

A good young big i.e. Alex Sarr would be a huge addition to the core and could push us even further forward. That is really the only guy that would jumpstart the process towards contention. I don't see any of the other guys on the draft board being anywhere near as impactful, sadly.

All we can hope for realistically is that we can add 2 if not 3 key bench guys or solid starters through this draft and maybe get a shot at Cooper Flagg next summer?

[Los_29]

If defense wasn't a thing, we'd be very close to them lol

Sadly it's extremely important so we're about 2 years away from being where they are and that's if we hit on our picks/trades/signings.

Putting the ball in the basket is also very important. lol.

Of course and they have a better number 1 option to do that than us in that department as well lol.

Getting a backcourt scorer will be Orlando's next big move and lucky for them, they have all the cap space/picks to make that happen this offseason.

Banchero had a 54% TS%. You’re not going to go far with that as your 1st option especially after Wagner’s regression. Both need to step it up next year because their offense was just marginally better than ours and we started a G-League team for a third of it.

Orlando doesn’t seem to have any picks left aside from their own and Denver’s pick next year. I’m not sure what their cap sheet is looking like but I’d imagine it will be pretty good for the next year until they have to re-sign all their guys.

[Tor_Raps]

Putting the ball in the basket is also very important. lol.

Of course and they have a better number 1 option to do that than us in that department as well lol.

Getting a backcourt scorer will be Orlando's next big move and lucky for them, they have all the cap space/picks to make that happen this offseason.

Banchero had a 54% TS%. You’re not going to go far with that as your 1st option especially after Wagner’s regression. Both need to step it up next year because their offense was just marginally better than ours and we started a G-League team for a third of it.

Orlando doesn’t seem to have any picks left aside from their own and Denver’s pick next year. I’m not sure what their cap sheet is looking like but I’d imagine it will be pretty good for the next year until they have to re-sign all their guys.

They've won 2 games and still have a chance to win this series. It's only Banchero's 2nd year. I agree they need Wagner to step it up more consistently.

I believe Orlando has max cap space this offseason while still having a bunch of young prospects that kinda look like busts but would be dumb to actually write them off so early in their careers.

Yes, they're not OKC in terms of young up and coming teams but they're still in a good spot.

[Raps in 4]

If we keep our pick this year, not very big. If we don't, it'll require some major leaps from BBQ and Dick.

Orlando's success isn't so much a result of top-end talent as it is depth. They just have a lot of good players.

[BlackThought]

I think Franz Wagner is a lot better than Barrett. Barrett played well since he got here but I have to see him do it for an entire year to discount his entire body of work in NY. 55% FG Barrett and 42% FG Barrett are completely different players.

[mrdressup]

3-4 years difference before we win that many games. We have no depth.

[Kingsway_fan]

3-4 years difference before we win that many games. We have no depth.

Masai needs to get lucky in the draft... and also turn Trent (sign and trade) into something useful... then we COULD be a play in team next year...