GDHQNBA15_2pg-Orlando Magic

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EASTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHEAST DIVISION Orlando The Orlando Magic was one of the youngest teams in the NBA last season—they ended the year at 25 years, 181 days, with 11 players with three-or-fewer years of NBA experience. They should be even younger in 2014-15 following an offseason that saw them cut ties with 10-year point guard Jameer Nelson and small forward Arron Afflalo. That puts the onus of responsibility for leadership in taking this team forward onto the backs of their young core of 22-year-old, second-year twoguard Victor Oladipo, 24-year-old fourth-year center Nikola Vucevic and 22-year-old fourth-year power forward Tobias Harris. That’s a nice base, but taking the reins of leadership will be trying. While they work things out, third-year head coach Jacque Vaughn must work in 2014 top-10 draft picks, forward Aaron Gordon (No. 4) and point guard Elfrid Payton (No. 10). Offseason veteran acquisitions Ben Gordon, Channing Frye, and Luke Ridnour will supply locker-room leadership. Orlando will improve but also have trouble keeping up in the improving Southeast. Likely playing without Oladipo early on will make things even tougher. Defense Orlando’s effort on the defensive end was a reason that more than a quarter of their schedule was decided by seven-or fewer points. But defense is still was an area that needs improvement. The Magic were in the middle of the pack in points per game, allowing 102 points, a point over the average and 17th in the League), opponents’ field goal percentage, as opponents shot .456 (13th), and two-point field goal percentage, .485 (12th), while their defense at the three-point line was in the bottom five (.371, 26th). One player that won’t need to improve his defense is Vucevic. The 7-0, 260-pound center, who enters his fourth NBA campaign, continued his stout play in the middle last season. One of only eight players in the League to average a double-double (13.0 ppg, 11.9 rpg), Vucevic led the team in rebounding 45 times, including a pair of 20-rebound efforts, the fifth and sixth of his career. Tobias Harris can be relentless on the boards, and makes a nice complement to Vucevic inside. Harris pulled down a career-best 7.5 rebounds last season and led or shared the team lead in rebounding 16 times after coming back from a high-ankle sprain that forced him to miss the first 21 games. Victor Oladipo showed solid defensive skill as a rookie, ranking among League leaders in steals (109, tied for ninth), and steals per game (1.6, tied for 16th). When he returns, he’ll play exclusively back at two-guard, where he will be most daunting defensively, with his long arms and athleticism. The need to improve defensively overrode the Magic’s offensive difficulties and factored into drafting Gordon and making a draft-night trade to get Payton from Philadelphia. Both are strongest as defenders, where they Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images can contribute immediately off the bench. Gordon brings a 6-9 frame, a 7-0 wing-span and a 39-inch vertical that makes him a potential matchup nightmare for opposing small forwards, shooting guards and, as he fills out, power forwards. Payton stands 6-4 but is lightning quick and as he matures, will be able to handle either guard spot. He averaged 2.3 steals last season at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he left as the school’s all-time steals leader, and picked up where he left off in the preseason, making around 1.5 spg. Maurice Harkless, Kyle O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson also will be counted on to chip in on the glass. Offense Orlando’s glaring weakness last season was scoring—or more accurately, the inability to do so — as they finished 25th in the NBA, managing 96.5 points per game, 4.5 below the League average. That area could continue to be a trouble spot, as during the offseason they said goodbye to Nelson and Afflalo, the team’s top two scorers and starting backcourt. The loss of Nelson, the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and one of only two players to spend 10 years with the team, was difficult from both a leadership but also from a production standpoint. In trading Afflalo, the Magic dealt their leading scorer (18.1 ppg) and three-point shooter (.427). Ridnour will likely take over the point, while Payton gets NBA-ready. Picking up the slack for Afflalo will be tougher. It will surely lead to more Victor Oladipo


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