Next Season?

[magickingdom]

So next season, what will this team do?
Not necessarily win/loss, but how successful will the season be? There is a lot of talk about how this team has not improved. Bringing back the same team. Now I know a lot of individual growth has to happen. But for me, it seems that for the first 50 games the team was learning the new system of offense and defense. The last 30 were more of an idea of what this team can do. Now I know there will be off games, but one would think that this team continues to learn the system and get better?
So if we base next season on the last 30 games, we’re a 50-60 win team?
Time will tell, but I’m excited. What do you think?

[PrimeThyme]

I think this team as is could win 42-45 games next year. Depending on a few factors I could see them winning more but its not something I would have enough faith to bet on. The first most likely thing I could see happening is Isaac taking a jump next year and becoming a 13-15 ppg All NBA type defender. If that happens I could see this teams win total jumping to 45 if everyone stays mostly healthy again and Vuc/Ross's production remains the same.

I'm not expecting Bamba to make a difference in the win total next year. My hope is that he can just be what Khem was for us last year and not hurt us when he is out on the court. Im kind of treating this like his rookie year next year and the following year is when I will expect to see a jump and him making a real impact on the court.

As for the big X-factor, If Fultz can come in healthy and start for this team at some point next year I think it could change life for us. Fultz coming in as a shotmaker/playmaker would do wonders for everyone in the starting lineup and DJ being able to move to the bench and run the second unit as one of the better backup points in the league would be a huge facelift for that bench unit.

Unfortunately, that is the most unlikely scenario imo. I still just haven't heard/seen enough to have any sort of faith at all to expect him to come in and be that for us next year. I still have worries at this point that he will never suit up for this team. So for me 50-60 wins is just unrealistic.

I hope to be very wrong though.

[spinedoc]

I think Vuc takes over this team for the time being. Its funny to say because I was one of those anticipating his departure, but he just got paid. I'm hoping for a Bill Laimbeer role for this guy, and everyone playing off of him. I'm not sure who is going to set up the offense, it will be more motion based and run and gun, but no one to control the possession when needed. It will go down to the post more with Vuc, and outside when his man is lagging. The big explosion potential is Fultz. It won't take much more to see a significant improvement when we finally get a starting pg. With his athleticism, he could deliver in spades. I also see Ross out performing Evan, JI outperforming AG, and the rest of the litter fighting to get a tit. Not all of them will stay, but interesting to see which ones it will be. A playoff team, maybe even peskier, but a first round exit realistically. Fultz, Vuc, and then JI will be the factors in our success, in that order. Oh, and I'll be here asking for a midseason trade.

[Max Power]

I think 60 wins is way too lofty. We were a 7th seed with 42 wins. I certainly think without a Bamba injury, a bad December/January that this team looked closer to a 50 win squad at times. If we get similar years from Vuc and Ross, and the natural upticks in play we get from Issac and Gordon, and if Fultz contributes anything as far as depth, 50 wins could possibly happen.

[p0peye]

I'm a happy camper with 45 wins.

[Skybox]

I think there will be some “equilibrium “ for some players who played over their heads last year- DJ and TRoss. I don’t think they’ll be bad, just not as good as last year. Opposite goes for Evan, who will likely pick up any of Ross’ drop off...I expect they’ll continue to be a solid combo at SG. DJ is a bigger concern at such a crucial position...obviously Fultz is the elephant in the room and the biggest chance for ORL to take another leap. I would expect steady but probably not explosive growth from BIG puts us at 45 wins...I’d say it’s at least 60% we do a pretty significant trade this season -either from a position of strength (Beal?) or desperation (PG if Fultz is done)

If Fultz is on, same win total, for chemistry reasons, but much brighter playoff picture

[zaymon]

So we were a 42 win team. How our rotation changes ?

Wesley Iwundu- 1233 minutes the 7th most of the time
Jerian Grant- 989 minutes the 8th most on the team
Jonathon Simmons- 845 minutes the 9th most on the team
Khem Birch- 643 minutes, the 11th most on the team
Isaiah Briscoe- 559 minutes the 12th most on the team
Jarell Martin- 328 minutes the 13th most on the team

Who will earn those minutes ? Fultz ?, MCW, Aminu, Bamba, Jefferson?, Mozgov?

Fultz- if he is healthy its more than just replacing Grant/ Briscoe minutes. He unlocks another style for us to play as a lead ball handler. We will not have to rely so much on Fournier to be creator+ point of attack defender. In the begining we would need him more off the bench to create chemistry with Bamba and take some ball handling duties from Gordon to preserve his stamina better.

MCW- we all love Briscoe but Micheal is a better player. He even had the bigger impact offensively.... Yes he is close to being out of the league, still he has the tools to impact games in a big way.

Aminu- the starter and receiver of 3rd(!!!) most minutes on Trail Blazers last year. I think our locker room is up for grabs and Aminu isnt known Chief for nothing. He can take some SF minutes to give Gordon and Ross more rest.

Bamba- he will be a better player this year. Its almost sure Birch will not return, but we still have Mozgov on our team. I am not sure Clifford will give him minutes for free like last year. The biggest swing outside Fultz in our rotation.

Jefferson- He was good last year and he is praised by Delany in Las Vegas. He will fight with Jeffries, Law to make the team.

Mozgov- insurance in case Bamba gets injured or doesnt make any progress.

In perfect world our strongest rotation would look something like that

Dj 26/ Fultz 22
Fournier 30/ Ross 18
Gordon 30/ Ross 10/ Aminu 8
Isaac 28/ Aminu 20
Vucevic 30/ Bamba 18

Lets take a look at eastern conference

1. Bucks- maybe a little weaker than last year but more experienced
2. Raptors- depending on Leonard decision
3. 76ers- dark horse.
4. Magic- I believe in our team. We will have much cleaner rotations, first full summer under Clifford. Aminu is really good.
5. Pacers- really well run organization. Bogdanovic loss will hurt but Brogdon + Lamb was worth it. Oladipo still injured
6. Celtics- Horford loss will hurt them more than everybody thinks and with all respect Walker is not Irving.
7. Nets- This season depends largely on Levert health, but will Irving allow him to thrive ? Nets are one year away from contenders.
8. Heat-They are in a wierd spot, still Jimmy is hell of a player. They could end up higher
9. Pistons- all on Griffins shoulders and they are quite wide. They added Rose, Morris
10. Bulls- I think they are too young.

Looking at our roster i have a feeling Isaac is more expendable than Gordon if we hit on Okeke, unless our plan is to trade Aminu to contender next year. I am so curious how much will our players develop during summer. I expect less offensive load on Fournier and more on Gordon. Fultz can change the equation. All in all i think we are better in every aspect than last year.

My prediction 48 wins.

[Furinkazan]

Wizards will be back in the playoffs next year.Book it.

[Anti Chalmers]

I see us winning 45 games. Probably good enough for the 6-7 seed. I’m just hoping to see Fultz play. I haven’t been this excited about a prospect since AG was drafted.

[basketballRob]

I think one or all three of Bamba, Isaac, and Fultz have to show a lot more for us to make playoffs and maybe exceed what we did last year. No way we'll be as healthy as we were last year.

Obviously the biggest one is Fultz. I know whenever DJ had a good game we were hard to beat. Also when Briscoe and MCW were backups we were so much better. That just shows if we just get average PG play we're a good team.



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[OrlandO]

it seems that for the first 50 games the team was learning the new system of offense and defense.

Absolutely. New coach, new system, a lot to adjust to after Vogel ran his circus show for two years. But more importantly Grant and Simmons are no longer here to sabotage the team for 60% of the season... that automatically makes us better compared to the first 50 games. I'm hopeful Bamba in his second year will be able to fill Birch's shoes and find a way to make somewhat of a positive impact... it shouldn't be a difficult role for a high level prospect with his physical tools.

The last 30 were more of an idea of what this team can do. Now I know there will be off games, but one would think that this team continues to learn the system and get better?

I think we can use the last 30 games as a blueprint for how we will play. Vuc, Ross and Isaac saw a noticeable uptick in shots and AG was more involved with passing. It will be tough to play as well as we did during that stretch in terms of record, but we don't really need to match that to make the playoffs again... we just need to play more consistently all season, which is definitely possible for the reasons mentioned above.

So if we base next season on the last 30 games, we’re a 50-60 win team?
Time will tell, but I’m excited. What do you think?

So to summarize, the team has taken off the training wheels, cut the fat, and will come out of the gates with improved chemistry/confidence. It also might have an ace up its sleeve with Fultz. I think 50 wins is actually possible, but we will have to stay healthy again and some of the young players will have to be improved. Realistically the goal should be 45 wins.

[OrlandoSaban]

Man all y’all are TL;DR

I’m hoping for 50 wins

[sportsrock37]

it seems that for the first 50 games the team was learning the new system of offense and defense.

Absolutely. New coach, new system, a lot to adjust to after Vogel ran his circus show for two years. But more importantly Grant and Simmons are no longer here to sabotage the team for 60% of the season... that automatically makes us better compared to the first 50 games. I'm hopeful Bamba in his second year will be able to fill Birch's shoes and find a way to make somewhat of a positive impact... it shouldn't be a difficult role for a high level prospect with his physical tools.

The last 30 were more of an idea of what this team can do. Now I know there will be off games, but one would think that this team continues to learn the system and get better?

I think we can use the last 30 games as a blueprint for how we will play. Vuc, Ross and Isaac saw a noticeable uptick in shots and AG was more involved with passing. It will be tough to play as well as we did during that stretch in terms of record, but we don't really need to match that to make the playoffs again... we just need to play more consistently all season, which is definitely possible for the reasons mentioned above.

So if we base next season on the last 30 games, we’re a 50-60 win team?
Time will tell, but I’m excited. What do you think?

So to summarize, the team has taken off the training wheels, cut the fat, and will come out of the gates with improved chemistry/confidence. It also might have an ace up its sleeve with Fultz. I think 50 wins is actually possible, but we will have to stay healthy again and some of the young players will have to be improved. Realistically the goal should be 45 wins.

My thoughts too, said way better than I could. We will likely not be as healthy as last season, but we also are entering the season deeper and with more defined roles in Year 2 of Clifford. Not having Grant/Simmons will be massive. Bench unit looks much better with a chance of being an impact bench depending on what Fultz can give. Need Bamba to be more serviceable.

I’m high on development of AG and JI, Both of them were much better in the 2nd half last year when we went on the big run to make playoffs then their overall stats indicated. They got more comfortable playing with each other and with Cliff’s system. If both are at worst the same as 2nd half last season I think our team improved by a couple wins. I think the playoffs were eye opening to both of them on what they need to improve on. Obviously I expect both to add more to their games plus improved chemistry this offseason. While their stats may not show a big jump I think they will be improved players and make the team better. Add in a vet like Aminu who can give them rest and be a very positive locker room influence can only help them and Chuma.

I think we will be in the 46-48 win range with possibility of 50+ due to being one of the few teams in the East that didn’t have massive change. That should pay dividends especially early as other teams try to figure out their new players/roles. Fultz is such an X Factor and can be a +/- of like 5 wins in either direction.


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[fendilim]

36-45 win range, imo.

[Skin]

Fultz plays his first game in October.

Fournier plays selfishly but also puts up effective numbers and regains a lot of Magic fans' faith in him en route to a new 4 year, $80M deal.

TRoss gains more votes next summer for 6th man, but doesn't win.

Gordon wins the Dunk contest and is an All-Star replacement. Averages 18+ppg and 4.5+ apg and increases his efficiency stats across the board.

Okeke joins the team in December. By end of season he will have converted all his draft critics calling him a bad pick.

Iwundu gets less playing time but is still a good teammate and cheers from the bench.

Isaac has a true breakout season. 14+ppg, 6rpg season.

Aminu gets more than 10 mpg.

Vuc's numbers go down across the board. Does not make All Star game.

Swole Bamba brings energy and excitement to the floor when he enters games.

Magic win 50 games.

[VFX]

40-45 wins, 7th/8th seed, losing in the first round of the playoffs. Rinse repeat.

[drsd]

With no growth or development, this is a 39-43 win team. If a lot of the "IFs" come true, this is a 50 win team. If the Unicorns grow wings (all the "IFs" come in at the same time", there is a path to high-50s.

Personally I say 45-49 wins. And a 6 seed.

..

[nicnac215]

I think a lot of people forget that stretch we had to end the season featured a few teams resting their best players. That is the biggest reason we made the playoffs in my opinion.

[BadMofoPimp]

Barring any serious injuries, I think the team could break 50, so the over/under for me is 48 mainly due to team developed improvement each year and a better bench this year.

[Knightro]

The Magic's ultimate ceiling next year all depends on Fultz.

If he doesn't play at all, they're still good enough defensively and on the glass to win somewhere in the low to mid 40s and make the playoffs depending on how healthy they stay.

If Fultz can play and actually provide some shot creation off the dribble, they could win 50.