Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris are leading the young Orlando team to a 6-11 start.
The Orlando Magic entered this season with mlid expectations. The verdict was that they certainly have a plethora of young talent, but their players are still way too young and inexperienced to compete for a playoff spot. So far they’ve matched their expectations, for the most part anyways.
Days before the start of the season the Magic locked up their center Nikola Vucevic for the future by signing him to a 4-year deal worth $53 million. So far Vucevic has been worth every penny as he is averaging 18.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, both are good for the team lead.
Orlando’s other ace has been 22-year-old forward Tobias Harris. Harris really broke out when he was traded to the Magic in January of 2013 but he seems to be elevating his game to a new level this year. Harris is posting 18.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and one of the most noticeable improvements in Harris’ game has been three point shooting. Last year Harris shot a poor 25.4 percent from behind the arch, through 15 games this season he’s shooting 40 percent.
Right now one of the most underrated offseason acquisitions in the entire NBA is looking like Evan Fournier. The Magic caught some flack when they pulled the trigger on the trade, as many experts believed they couldn’t have gotten more for Aaron Afflalo. Fortunately for Orlando Fournier really appears to be having a breakout season. Fournier is currently scoring 16.1 points per game that includes a 49 percent clip on three point attempts.
Joining Fournier in the backcourt is second year guard Victor Oladipo and rookie Elfrid Payton. Oladipo missed the first few games of the year due to injury, and he’s looked a bit rusty in his first few games back as he’s only shooting 38 percent. Not too much should be put into that though, Oladipo is still averaging 13.4 points per contest to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Oladipo should be one of the best glue players in the league going forward which is exactly what he was projected to be out of Indiana. He brings a ton of energy and excellent defense. Elfrid Payton was really thrown into the fire. As a rookie he probably needed some time to grow, but due to Orlando being so weak at his position he’s been asked to handle a lot of the point guard duties. So far he’s performed rather well considering the circumstances, he’s averaging 6.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He still needs to improve as a shooter, but Payton impacts the game in a ton of ways.
Orlando’s other heralded rookie is Aaron Gordon who they spent the fourth selection in the 2014 draft on. Unlike Payton, Gordon hasn’t been asked to do as much so far and he’s viewed as more of a project. Gordon has scary athleticism and he’s put that on display multiple times already this year. Right now it looks as if Gordon could be a scary good defender in the future, but he still has a ways to go on offense. Unfortunately he will be sidelined for some time with a foot injury.
Guys like Moe Harkless, Andrew Nicholson, and Kyle O’Quinn are carrying Orlando’s bench. The Magic could really use some more depth in the backcourt, potentially at point guard.
The Magic clearly aren’t quite there yet but all their top young prospects are showing serious potential which is a great sign. If they can continue to draft well this team has a really, really bright future. What the Magic seems to be lacking is a true go-to scorer, right now they’re sitting at 24th in the league with only 95.4 points per game. Orlando is currently in line for another high draft pick while remaining competitive which is what they were probably shooting for this year.
At 6-11 they’re doing exactly what was expected of them. They’re showing their youth and potential, it’s fun watching them but it’s also clear they definitely aren’t there yet.
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