ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 There\u2019s a new vibe and plenty of buzz surrounding the Orlando Magic after a splashy offseason.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a while since they were considered championship contenders.<\/p>\n
The Magic are favorites to repeat as Southeast division champions, have the third-best odds to win the Eastern Conference and are eighth-best to capture an NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nobody outside of that locker room that should have higher expectations for ourselves than us,\u201d fifth-year coach Jamahl Mosley said Monday. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot of people saying what we should or could do but our standard is high and what we know we\u2019re capable of doing. It starts with our everyday work, getting better every single day. It\u2019s the daily habits that we have to approach as a group and it\u2019s the standard and accountability we have to hold each other to.\u201d<\/p>\n
After going 41-41 last season and getting eliminated by Boston in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the Magic made a major move to address scoring.<\/p>\n
The team paid a hefty price to acquire Desmond Bane from Memphis, sending four first-round picks, a pick swap plus Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony to the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n
Bane averaged 19.2 points last season and made 39% of his shots from 3-point range. He joins star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to boost the offense.<\/p>\n
The Magic also signed guard Tyus Jones in free agency. He averaged 10.2 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range last season for Phoenix.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe space they provide on the floor is tremendous but also their leadership, their experience, who they\u2019ve been for each team they\u2019ve been on provides mentorship for our young guys,\u201d Mosley said.<\/p>\n
The Magic were plagued by injuries last season, going without Banchero, Wagner and Jalen Suggs for long stretches. Suggs averaged 16.2 points, four rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals before he suffered a cartilage injury to his left knee in late January that required arthroscopic surgery. His goal is to return for opening night and he\u2019s excited about teaming with Bane in the backcourt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think when we get to mesh as time passes, as we continue to play, as the season evolves and goes on \u2014 I think the league, everyone that follows basketball will continue to see not only why that was one of the best acquisitions of the summer, but why me and Bane could be one of the best backcourts in the NBA because of how well versed we are,\u201d Suggs said. \u201cIn every aspect, we either are elite or we cover for each other … and so I\u2019m very excited to get to hooping with him alongside everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
While offense was an issue last season, the Magic had the league\u2019s No. 2 defensive ranking behind the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The goal is to turn those opportunities the defense creates into points.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about converting in transition when you\u2019ve gotten the steal, when you\u2019ve gotten the stop, and our ability to finish possessions off the right way, putting pressure on their defense by attacking early in transition and finishing,\u201d Mosley said.<\/p>\n
With the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers facing a season without star Tyrese Haliburton and the Boston Celtics expected to be without Jayson Tatum for a significant period, the door is open for the improved Magic to make a deep run. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks have better odds to win the conference.<\/p>\n
The Magic haven\u2019t won a playoff series since 2009-10 when they advanced to the East finals. They are 0-2 in NBA Finals in their 36-year history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been more excited since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d Magic president Jeff Weltman said. \u201cI feel we have a team that\u2019s capable of accomplishing big things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 There\u2019s a new vibe and plenty of buzz surrounding the Orlando Magic after a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":268536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1578,723,1260,6063,3121,1351,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-268535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-associated-press","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-orlando","12":"tag-orlando-magic","13":"tag-professional-basketball","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115297605060604044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}