It is a good thing the Orlando Magic possess talent, because they are going to need it.
The Eastern Conference became a more difficult place to play after a seismic offseason of moves, and the Magic will have to endure every bit of it. The good news is that Orlando has something some other teams do not yet: continuity and familiarity.
This is a roster that, for the most part, has been together for at least one full season. At the top of the talent list, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs have spent several seasons together, and Desmond Bane is getting ready to enter year two as one of the Magic's best players.
While the base chemistry has been established, there is always room to grow, especially for a backcourt of Suggs and Bane who are only going into a second season playing with one another. During the upcoming season, it will be intriguing to witness how the tandem operates and whether they are better because of the previous season spent as teammates.
In a recent episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I discussed this topic:
"I want to see how [Sean] Sweeney's vision for the offense can be applicable to this Magic roster, specifically as it comes down to the backcourt with Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane. What can that tandem show us in year two together? Because, you know, their dynamic last year, it was a lot of getting used to each other.
I mean, Jalen played less than 60 games while Desmond played all 82, and they've got very different skill sets, right? And when you really break it down to brass tacks in the most concrete form, Jalen Suggs is a defensive specialist, where Desmond's game is more predicated on the offensive end. You know, he's shown us that he can take over as a number one type of scoring option. He is more than capable of creating his shot and getting his own bucket, where Jalen has some of that, but he is more of a defensive specialist, a really good on-ball guard; can really make things difficult for teams in the half-court.
But we've seen him melt down on the offensive end, especially in the playoffs. He had a terrible series against Detroit, and really the only shining moment for him was that hot start in Game 1 that kind of spurred the momentum for Orlando. But after that point, I mean, he was just abysmal. And so how will those guys continue to complement each other?
It's interesting because, you know, Jalen had a career-high 5.5 assists last season, even though his usage rate of the core four players of the Magic was the lowest. And, you know, it would have been higher if he was healthier and things of that nature. You know, there's context with all of this, but he was a good facilitator.
But neither him nor Desmond Bane are true point guards. And so, how can Sean Sweeney find a way to maximize their skill sets the most and put them in a situation where, combined you are getting elite guard play on both sides of the floor that is, you know, synchronous and it works well in a cohesive way with the rest of the team? And so, I think that'll be interesting to watch.
I think that Desmond Bane can take another leap. He averaged 20.1 points last season. We know he can do more. We saw it in Memphis, and he was not the first option in Memphis. You know, he's playing beside Ja Morant, right? Jaren Jackson Jr., like, he had to share touches with guys, and he's doing that again. But he was absolutely as advertised last year in so many ways, and so valuable in terms of his health, playing all 82 games and then all through the postseason.
