Poll: Is Orlando going to make this season's playoffs?

[Max Power]

I don't want to be pessimistic, but I don't see us making the playoffs. Several things need to happen for the Magic to get there and I only see a couple happening.

1. Aaron Gordon has to become a factor on offense. I think this can happen, but needs to average somewhere near 15 ppg.

2. Elfrid Payton has to get a decent shooting percentage. It's not about ppg for him, it's just about consistency. If he's a threat to hit open shots it prevents defenses from converging on Fournier and Vucevic. I have serious doubts about Payton. I'd start Augustine myself.

3. Serge Ibaka needs to take the bull by the horns and show Vogel he can be a go to offensive option. He arguably needs to be in the 18 ppg range to justify this trade and potential long term deal.

4. Fournier and Payton need to keep up with the guys in the paint. Defensively in the paint, this team should be very good. It's here where we're going to miss Victor Oladipo badly. The backcourt needs to hold its own defensive weight.

In the end our lack of prowess on offense worries me, but these are how Vogel teams are designed. Unfortunately there's no Paul George here yet and a prime Danny Granger. I do expect this team to be in the chase for the playoffs but will come up short due to a lack of a go to guy.


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[j-ragg]

NO. Magic will end up as no. 9 in the East. They did not address 3 main issues namely:
1. consistent/dynamic scorer
2. go to guy
3. floor/vocal leader
The off-season focused on getting players for defensive purpose, but scoring 80-90 points per game will not win games enough to even get the 8th spot. To put it in perspective, the Magic's starting unit are all good 6th man in a legit playoff teams.

What?

First off, 1&2 are the same thing. And a vocal leader is what we were missing? I think front court defense is what we were missing. Obviously scoring is somewhat of an issue but I think we have capable scorers. If you don't think we're a playoff team no worries but those reasons just seemed odd.

[in-limbo]

I think the roster is greatly improved over last year and there's every reason to believe the Magic will be much better.

We're not going to be fun to play against, I believe that. I hope Elf can improve the jump shot because it's killing his confidence. He can be a game changer on defense when his head is straight. There have been only glimpses of what Elf can do beyond scoring to change games, I think this year we see the real Elfrid Payton.

We took a borderline all-star center and paired him with his perfect running mate.

I can't remember the last time we had a good back up at point, we for sure do now. Watson may even be healthy enough to help out this year.

The bench this year is a lot better with many options depending on the starting 5.

Starting 5 is way flexible.

AG will happen.

etc.

[chosen12141]

The EC playoff teams I see are:

CLE - obvs.
TOR - strength to strength. Might miss Biyombo off the bench, but JV takes a big step this year.
BOS - still not a team that impresses me, but they play a great team game and added a great piece to that squad.
ATL - could fizzle, but I think they might recapture a bit of that old Orlando Magic Dwight-lightning in a bottle. Coach Bud will make it work.
IND - as long as Nate keeps the defensive intensity, they'll only get better with Turner and Jefferson boosting scoring even more.
NYK - might be a top 3 team if they stay healthy. Hornacek will have them playing defense, and they've got a version of his surprise Phoenix team on steroids now.
ORL - we'll have an elite defense and a defense-first mentality. That's what we'll latch onto and forge our identity through that. Scoring will come and go, but our defense will be scrappy and keep us in games at all times.
WAS - Brooks will get them on the same page again.

DET - can Stan take that team much further than they showed last season? I think they'll become too predictable and defenses will find ways to slow them down.
MIL - Giannis will take another big step forwards as a team and they'll play great D and be the team nobody wants to face.
CHA - won't be as good without Jefferson, Lin and Lee.
CHI - I don't think Hoiberg is a good enough coach to make those pieces fit and work together.
MIA - The Whiteside/Dragic show won't be enough to get them into the playoffs.

All those non-playoff teams have more star power than us, but I think our attitude towards defense will be what separates us. It all hinges on that.

Bravo Sir.....Enough said! Completely Agree!

[PennytoShaq]

I think it happens this year. This is the first year I have believed it since the rebuild.

[Magic_Johnny12]

I have no doubt in my mind if we're somewhat close by ASB that we will make an additional move to make a strong playoff push. Green/Meeks/Watson are all expiring useful players and could add to an already playoff team looking for veteran help. I could also see if Payton is clearly the under achiever we making a strong push for Bledsoe or a newly available PG.

[Jiwol]

We won 35 games with worse roster and significantly worse head coach. Can't see the Magic winning less then 41 - and that's minimum. We'll get there, fellas.

[drsd]

We won 35 games with worse roster and significantly worse head coach. Can't see the Magic winning less then 41 - and that's minimum. We'll get there, fellas.

Lot's of discussion about the Magic under-performing. But what if they over-perform? Is that 50 wins? More?


..

[Jiwol]

We won 35 games with worse roster and significantly worse head coach. Can't see the Magic winning less then 41 - and that's minimum. We'll get there, fellas.

Lot's of discussion about the Magic under-performing. But what if they over-perform? Is that 50 wins? More?


..

50+ is overperforming I guess. Would be ecstatic.

[MagicMadness]

I think we have enough talent/coaching to win 41 games.

The questions I have are 'Can the talent mesh properly?' and 'Will it be enough to make the playoffs?'

[fklt]

I don't think east got better. while you can say that about last year, this one was a stand pat. all teams always think they got better, few actually do.

here's how I see it;
cavs has no real rivals for the top spot,
raptors got worse but still good,
boston's okay,
detroit's gonna get better as they mature
and charlotte's okay.

bucks still not good enough,
hawks will go out with a whimper,
indy's gonna take a step back,
knicks gonna implode,
wizards were quite old and last year was their comeuppance and this year will be same,
heat and bulls flat out suck
and nets and sixers are still out of the picture.

and, we'll resemble the team that was on a 5 team winning streak with vic coming off the bench, as we restructured to emulate that style. sooo, I think we'll be between 2-6 spots. I'll be hoping for the second. yes

[basketballRob]

I don't think east got better. while you can say that about last year, this one was a stand pat. all teams always think they got better, few actually do.

here's how I see it;
cavs has no real rivals for the top spot,
raptors got worse but still good,
boston's okay,
detroit's gonna get better as they mature
and charlotte's okay.

hawks will go out with a whimper,
indy's gonna take a step back,
knicks gonna implode,
wizards were quite old and last year was their comeuppance and this year will be same,
bucks still not good enough,
heat and bulls flat out suck
and nets and sixers are still out of the picture.

and, we'll resemble the team that was on a 5 team winning streak with vic coming off the bench, as we restructured to emulate that style. sooo, I think we'll be between 2-6 spots. I'll be hoping for the second. yes

I think if we do make the playoffs, the Magic are built to play playoff basketball.

[Orlwillbeback]

It really wouldn't surprise me if Charlotte dropped out of the playoffs into the lottery. A lot of their depth signed else ware and imo that was their biggest asset since they didn't really have any big stars.

Miami will drop for sure. Besides the fact that they lost Wade, they are just not the same franchise without him and I'll bet much of the local community is devastated. I think Bosh is being delusional with wanting to come back. There is no way anyone with repeated episodes of blood clots should play in the NBA. It was obviously necessary to retain Whiteside but Im not sure I like the idea of his personality going unchecked in the team's hierarchy. I wouldn't be surprised if this factored into Wade's decision to leave as well. Besides that they still have some nice pieces like Dragic but he is not worth what they are paying him IMO.

Wash underachieved big time last year and I have no doubt they will recover this year since they restocked on bigs, which was their most glaring need.

Cleveland will still be number one but they still need to figure out what they're gonna do with JR. I don't know if Jr's agent is Rich Paul but if it is, it seems to me Paul is screwing Gilbert any way he can. If they lose JR it hurts but not totally irreplaceable. Shun pert needs to step up obviously but he has always disappointed throughout his career.

I think Toronto overachieved a bit last year and have never really been convinced their top guys are truly top guys. Their loss of depth will hurt them and like Charlotte they are essentially taking on more in payroll to pay one of their guys the market rate and letting their depth go elsewhere.

ATL should be good. Schroeder is a stud and I'll bet he breaks out this season. Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap is a pretty dominant goddamn front court any way you slice it, especially defensively. They are more talented and experienced than our front court but also more injury prone and Howard is a wild card diva who can negatively affect the locker room, so who knows what will happen.

Boston has nowhere to go but up. They should be a lock for a top 4 seed especially now with Horford. They don't have any superstars but a deep roster with solid to good players who stay within themselves and don't try to do too much.

New York is banking on guys who have all have egos that are many times bigger than their talent. Noah has fought injuries for years and it's possible it has caught up to him the last two years since he hasn't been able to play much at all. Rose is just delusional at this point about his ability but I still don't mind the idea of taking on his contract for New York. KP has a lot of talent and potential but he wasn't really a good shooter last year despite his reputation. Best part of his game is his activity level on the boards And the fact that he finds his way into many plays even though hes raw. He is similar to Noel in this regard but he is taller and a better shooter. Melo is probably just bored at this point and he realizes he may never lead a team to a championship unless he starts chasing after his contract is up.

Philly and Brooklyn both obviously the worst in the conference. Philly got better but instead of winning 12 games, they may just win 24-26 lol. I think Simmons was the obvious pick. Not only ideas he the best talent in the draft but his passing ability should benefit a team with so many gunners and ball hogs.

Brooklyn should be laughably bad this year.

Detroit and Indy are kind of blah teams to me that seemed to have mostly peaked already.

Detroit still doesn't have much depth and their starters are still only so-so. Tobias is delusional about his potential. Stanley Johnson has the most potential of their young guys but needs experience. I think getting a taste of the playoffs last year helped him and everyone on that team.

[ivDT]

the people that voted no should be beat with soup ladles.

[woosah]

yep.
Rob got a family to feed, a family to feed.
they depennding on him, depending on him.
if you don't believe in him
he's like......











Yes i think some things are going to come together enough. These players should come in very motivated this year.

[SOUL]

I actually really believe in Payton still. Somehow over the course of the summer his stock is getting lower and lower. I think there are only about 10 people here that really think he will stay on the team more than this year... but people are REALLY overstating how "bad" he is.

[Nemesis21]

I actually really believe in Payton still. Somehow over the course of the summer his stock is getting lower and lower. I think there are only about 10 people here that really think he will stay on the team more than this year... but people are REALLY overstating how "bad" he is.

Count me in, in still having faith in Payton and seeing him as the starter past this season.

[basketballRob]

I actually really believe in Payton still. Somehow over the course of the summer his stock is getting lower and lower. I think there are only about 10 people here that really think he will stay on the team more than this year... but people are REALLY overstating how "bad" he is.

The guy had both ankles severely sprained. When Curry was going through his ankle issues he was nowhere near an all-star.

I think Payton is the type of PG that player's tend to gravitate towards playing with, a pass first PG who doesn't take **** from other players. Remember him getting in Westbrooks face?

Payton also shows signs of being able to take over in the final minutes of a close game.

[SOUL]

I actually really believe in Payton still. Somehow over the course of the summer his stock is getting lower and lower. I think there are only about 10 people here that really think he will stay on the team more than this year... but people are REALLY overstating how "bad" he is.

The guy had both ankles severely sprained. When Curry was going through his ankle issues he was nowhere near an all-star.

I think Payton is the type of PG that player's tend to gravitate towards playing with, a pass first PG who doesn't take **** from other players. Remember him getting in Westbrooks face?

Payton also shows signs of being able to take over in the final minutes of a close game.

I agree. I think he is going to play a big role in getting this team back on track with belief from his coach and his ankles better. People forget that he had a very strong end to the season when he wasn't under any restrictions. Of course, his shot will need to improve but he can still work well in a number of different lineups.

[MagicStarwipe]

The talk of Elfrid being some kind of "weak link" is a joke. When dude is on he's one of our BEST players, period. Whatever. They'll see.