11th grade basketball wizz Terrias Griffith believes the Orlando Magic are at best a second round exit.
“They’re young, real young, they have great players. Franz Wager Jalen Suggs as their playmaker, the great dense presence of Jonathan Issac and some vets like KCP coming into his role. When they get Pablo back from injury they for sure a playoff team. Their offense holds them back from making it out the east. I don’t think they’re better than the Cavs or Celtics but they’re on the way,” comments Terrias.
After reading this you might be convinced to agree.
In the current landscape of the NBA we have many up and coming young teams. The OKC Thunder, the Spurs, the Houston Rockets. One team last season stood out to me and many others, the Orlando Magic, making The 5th seed in the NBA’S eastern conference. Even though they lost in the first round in a game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even though this was an upsetting loss they had one thing work for them, they have the first round overall pick Pablo Benchero played at a super star level. Benchero gave us 27 Pts, 4 Ast, 8 Rpg with a steal. With great contributions from role players like Jalen Suggs, Johnathan Issac, and his underwhelming but still co-star Franz Wagner.
After last season the Magic had very high expectations coming into the 2024-25 campaign. With this Pablo Banchero shattered the expectations on his play. Having a 50 point almost triple double against the Pacers and 30 Point bomb against the Heat in his first game. Sadly with his last one also 30 Points vs the Bulls but he suffered an injury which put him out for 3-4 weeks of NBA Basketball. With this the Magic started to lose, having a below .500 record. With the rest of the Magic playing all around bad, not being able to hit their three pointers create space and open up the game but still having a wonderful defense.
Even without their star player being able to make a comeback now being 9-6 off the wonderful play of their co-star Franz Wagner. The big man has been giving them 30 points, 7 Rebs, 4 Ast with great rim protection and defense as a whole. With him also shooting 40+ percent on 3 pointers which has been a weak spot of his game that many people believe could hold the Magic back. Play from Jalen Suggs, KCP and many more role players have been able to keep the team above .500.
With this the Magic are a team to watch out for. Great rotation role players. Wonderful team chemistry and defense from multiple positions. Great scoring and passing from Franz with Jalen Suggs most nights great shooting ability. With Pablo soon back into the rotation the team will be top of the Eastern Conference trying to get a top seed from the Cavs and Boston Celtics. Watch out the Magic are on their way!