2014-2015 Season Previews: Orlando Magic Q&A
To help get ready for the 2014-2015 NBA season Pelican Debrief is going through each of the 30 NBA team’s with help from other Fansided NBA sites. Today we are joined by Zach Oliver, editor of Presto in the Paint, Fansided’s Orlando Magic blog to talk young players, shooting and athleticism.
1. Ben Gordon was one of the most controversial signings of the offseason. What are your thoughts on Gordon and how he can help the Magic?
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Zach: Overall, I didn’t mind the signing as much as some did. Sure, they probably overpaid some, but it seems like it could be a low-risk, high-reward type signing. The Magic desperately need shooting, and Gordon is a guy who’s a 40 percent career shooter from three. It’s a chance for him to revive his career, and it seems as though he’s committed to working and helping the young guys, which is huge. If things don’t work out, he’s a one-year deal who could be used in a trade, should the team be looking in that direction, or waive him outright next summer.
2. The Magic have a unique player in Tobias Harris who is offensively gifted but doesn’t seem to have a defensive position. Where does he fit in the Magic’s long term plans?
Zach: I’m still not totally sure where he fits in their long-term plans. I like Tobias, but he’s pretty much in tweener hell. He’s better offensively against power forwards, but better defensively against small forwards. I think he’s destined to a sixth man role this season, and after this, I’m not sure. They have to make a decision if they want to extend him, but I think he needs to show us more this season to prove to me that he deserves that extension.
3. The Magic drafted two exciting young players in the NBA Draft in Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon but neither knows how to shoot. Can they be successful this year without that important ability?
Zach:Yes. They’re both so developed on the defensive end that they’ll be able to make a big impact there. I would imagine Payton will have a bigger impact on the offensive end due to his ability to get into the paint and draw contact and get to the free throw line. Gordon has a long way to go to be impactful on that end, but I think with time will have a bigger impact. Off the bat, his athleticism will give the team another dangerous weapon on the break and in some offensive sets that could lead to ally-oops or easy looks around the rim.
4. With Payton and Gordon joining Mo Harkless and Victor Oladipo the Magic have a bunch of athletic guys who aren’t elite shooters but should be a ton of fun in the open court this year. How will that all fit long term?
Zach: Well, with Harkless and Oladipo, I think they’ll be fine shooting wise. Both showed some signs last season of improving on that end, and the team’s ability to get into the lane could give them some better looks. Payton and Gordon are a different story for a whole other day, but with the right work can become serviceable shooters.
Long-term I think we could see the Magic go kind of the same route they did this offseason with buying shooters in free agency, and focusing on defense and athleticism in the draft. I imagine over time that all of Harkless, Oladipo, Gordon, Payton and even Tobias Harris level out and become good enough shooters for the team.
5. What is the best case scenario for the Magic? The worst? What do you think happens for them?
Zach: Best case for this team would be taking a giant leap, something like the Suns took last season, and fighting for a playoff spot. That’s this team’s ceiling at this point, and I highly doubt that happens. The worst case is some of their young players either A) get hurt and struggle to stay on the court or B) regress somewhat like Andrew Nicholson did last season. If they end up losing more games this season I don’t think it’d be the end of the world.
I have them pegged in the 28-33 win range at this point, and that’s just throwing numbers at a wall and seeing what sticks. They’re going to be improved on the defensive end, and should be able to manufacture enough points on the offensive end to hang around most games. Oh, and this team HAS to do better on the road. I mean, they were 4-37 on the road last season, there’s NO WAY they can be THAT bad again.