Magic hope a new coaching staff can guide talented roster to postseason success
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Orlando Magic
Last season: 45-37, lost to Detroit in first round of playoffs.
COACH: Sean Sweeney (first-time NBA head coach, hired June 1).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 21 vs. Atlanta.
DEPARTURES: F/C Moritz Wagner, G/F Jett Howard, C Orlando Robinson.
ADDITIONS: C Nikola Vučević, F Malaki Branham, G JD Davison.
What to expect
Rather than change their roster after losing in the initial round of the playoffs for three straight seasons, the Magic changed their coaching staff. Orlando replaced Jamahl Mosley with rookie head coach Sean Sweeney, Mitch Johnson’s right-hand man with the Western Conference champion Spurs last year. How Sweeney alters the Magic’s recipe with the same ingredients is the key question for a franchise that hasn’t cleared the first round in the postseason since 2009-10.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: Continuity and depth are buzzwords entering the season. The Magic return their best shooter Desmond Bane and best passer Jalen Suggs, as well as leading scorer and rebounder Paolo Banchero. Orlando brought back Vučević to spell starting center Wendell Carter Jr. No question, the Magic have the talent to clear their postseason hump.
The not-so-good: When Suggs is healthy, a key storyline entering this season, the club is markedly better. The Magic were 34-23 (.596) with him on the court last season but only 11-14 (.440) without him. Suggs has played more than 57 games in only one of his five seasons since Orlando selected him in the first round of the 2021 draft.
Players to watch
Bane is an elite shooter in the backcourt and Franz Wagner is one of the league’s more versatile small forwards. But the franchise’s cornerstone is Banchero, who was 7 years old the most recent time the Magic advanced past the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2010. While Banchero has steadily improved since his Rookie of the Year season, his progress hasn’t matched the expectations of the No. 1 overall selection in the 2022 draft. He ranked 19th last season with 22.2 points per game — down from his prior two years — but turned in a career-best 8.4 rebounds per game. Sweeney could unlock a new level in his potential superstar but, for now, potential is all the Magic own.
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