The Magic came into the bubble with some hopes, but those hopes… quickly faded. Like last season, Orlando grabbed the last places for the Playoffs, took the first game of the first round and then left. It’s weird, we have a feeling of déjà vu for Floridians.
The advantage is that the return home will be short, and it is indeed the only one we can find at the Magic after this bubble, by the way. Because the Magic has not really progressed at the end of the season. As in 2019, it comes out in five against a cador from the East after taking the first match with panache. A taste for unfinished business sets in when we look at the case of the Floridians, a team that can play at a good level of basketball but whose ceiling remains quite low, ultimately. So, admittedly, injuries haven’t helped this year. Between Mo Bamba, Aaron Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and especially Jonathan Isaac, Orlando did not really have the means to resist in Playoffs against the steamroller of Wisconsin. But on the one hand, even with a full team, who could have stopped the Giannis Antetokounmpo locomotive and its usual 31-15? Come on, Jonathan Isaac could have contained it in… 28-14? The observation is simple, collectively, the Magic cannot pass the step which would lead them higher in a conference Is quite open. Result? Like last year, a gentleman sweep and it’s over, hard.
But precisely, in all this hecatomb of injuries, who took over? Well, not many people. Nikola Vucevic found himself alone to score and the results were felt. In the bubble, the Vooch shot at 20.4 points and 8 rebounds per game, and in the Playoffs, he exploded to 29.5 points accompanied by 10 rebounds at 53.4% shooting including 44.1% from parking, very, very serious stats. The problem is, the friends haven’t been able to help out as they should. Starting with our national Evan Fournier who, after a very good regular season, has not been able to raise his level of play against the Bucks (and in the bubble in general). Going from 18.6 points on average with good percentages to 11.5 points at 33.3% on shoot and 32.1% from distance, it’s ugly. It was not much better for DJ Augustin and Markelle Fultz, good at times but too irregular on the whole. Only Terrence Ross survived in the sinking ship of the Magic with 17.2 points per game. In short, there was no miracle for an Orlando team that simply did not have the weapons to compete against the ogre Milwaukee. Steve Clifford and John Hammond (GM) will have jobs to build a more competitive team next season, because yes, there are going to have to be changes to the Magic.
- Magic vs Nets : 128 – 118
- Magic vs Kings : 132 – 116
- Magic vs Pacers : 109 – 120
- Magic vs Raptors : 99 – 109
- Magic vs Sixers : 101 – 108
- Magic vs Celtics : 119 – 122
- Magic vs Nets : 96 – 108
- Magic vs Pelicans : 133 – 127
PLAYOFFS
- Magic vs Bucks : 122 – 110
- Magic vs Bucks : 96 – 111
- Magic vs Bucks : 106 – 121
- Magic vs Bucks : 107 – 121
- Magic vs Bucks : 104 – 118
Come on, let’s go home, take the time to recharge our batteries after these intense two months, and then sit down at the table and seriously discuss the future of the franchise. There are choices to be made and decisions to be made for John Hammond, because for now, things are stagnating on the Magic side and we have to make adjustments to move to the next level.
–
