The guiding principle the Orlando Magic have used to build their roster can be distilled to two draft picks they didn’t even make. In 2013, when current Magic executive John Hammond was running the Milwaukee Bucks, he used the No. 15 overall pick to select Giannis Antetokounmpo. Three years later, in 2016, he used the No. 10 overall pick on Thon Maker.
The outcomes of those two picks diverged about as far as two draft pick can. Antetokounmpo is a five-time First-Team All-NBA choice. Maker’s career ended after five NBA seasons. But the logic behind the two picks was the same: they were home-run swings on physical traits and theoretical skills rather than what was immediately apparent. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman came from a Toronto Raptors team that has largely lived by the same philosophy: draft big wing-sized humans, then teach them the finer points of their roles as you go.
The Bucks and Raptors both prospered with that philosophy. The Magic are well on their way to doing the same. Their size is the envy of the NBA. Eight of their 11 most used players this season were 6-foot-9 or taller, and a ninth, rookie Anthony Black is 6-foot-7. That size isn’t just raw athleticism, either. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are two of the best ball-handlers of their size in the NBA. Wendell Carter Jr., Jonathan Isaac and Mo Wagner can all shoot at least a bit. Together, they helped the Magic rank third in defense this season despite having the NBA’s fifth-youngest opening night roster. Broadly speaking, the plan is working.
They just ran into the same major flaw that has held the Bucks and Raptors back in the postseason when they lost their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday: roster balance matters. You need guards. You need adequate shooting. You need a roster with some semblance of adaptability to win in the playoffs.
The Magic ranked 29th in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game this season (31.2) and 24th in 3-point percentage (35.2%). They were slightly more willing to fire away from deep in the first round against Cleveland, but they made only 30.9% of their attempts in the series. You can win a series without making your 3’s. The Cavaliers proved that by beating the Magic in this one despite shooting 28.7% from deep across the seven games. But Cleveland scored 48.3 points per game in the paint. Orlando was limited to 37.3.
