What we have seen so far from the Orlando Magic this season has been remarkable so far and all of us fans should be excited for what may be to come. The Magic are now sitting atop the NBA along with Boston and the Lakers as the first teams to clinch the 30 victory mark and don’t look to be slowing down at all. I’ts been an awesome sight to watch this year and it has been highlighted the last week with an impressive road victory in San Antonio last night and the absolute destruction of Atlanta on Friday.
Last night’s 105-98 victory over the Spurs really set them apart as the leagues best road team and has helped them let everyone know that they’re for real and need to be in the conversation as one of the best in the NBA right now. If they keep this pace up they should be considered elite, but they need to show and prove in the playoffs to really make their mark.
There are a few things different this season than in the past that make me believe that this team is ready to snag a title and I’ll go through them quickly.
- The emergence of Jameer Nelson as a better floor captain and scorer is probably the biggest improvement in the team this season. Nelson is on pace to set or match career highs in FG %, PPG, FT %, rebounds, steals and 3 pointer %. Nelson has probably set himself up for the most improved player award at least.
- The recent addition of Courtney Lee to the starting lineup is going to do nothing but help this team that has been lacking at the SG position for some time. Lee is an animal defensively, is lightning fast and will do enough offensively to keep the job he has earned. His scoring will slowly improve as he gets more time, but I wouldn’t expect too much from him there with Lewis, Howard, Turk and Nelson doing most of the damage.
- Rashard Lewis looks like he finally understands how talented he is and has improved his game on both ends of the floor. I have dogged Lewis in the past for not driving the lane enough and I must stop that now. He could probably go to the hoop more, but with Lee in the lineup, it’s not near as necessary as before. Lee will be aggressive inside so Lewis can light it up from the outside and these guys really seem to understand that and are playing very well together.
All of these things coupled with coach Stan Van Gundy’s relentless defensive approach has set this team apart from the rest of the league and should have this team believing they can take down Boston as NBA Champs.
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