New Year Brings New Hope For Magic

With 2017 upon us many of the Orlando Magic players have been making new year’s Resolutions. For some it is simply eating healthy and exercising more. However, there are some resolutions we would like to see from the players and coaches. Here is our list of resolutions for 2017:

Nikola Vucevic

Win the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year Award if the Magic continue to use Vucevic off the bench. So far the big man has thrived in his new role averaging over 16 points in his last 7 games. What has helped his cause is that he has been playing starter like minutes, often playing more than starting center Bismack Biyombo. Of course it couldn’t hurt if Vucevic continues to work on his defense, which has improved from a few years ago.

Elfrid Payton

Become a more consistent offensive threat. In his last five games Payton has scored as many as 25 points against the Lakers, only to score just a single bucket two games later against the Pacers. Payton’s ups and downs on offense is really what is holding him back from being a solid starting point guard in this league.

Frank Vogel

In his first year with the Magic Coach Vogel has struggled to find a happy medium with is players. Either they are struggling to put points on the board, or their defense looks like a bull fighter as they are letting guys just go right past them. Now that Orlando’s offense is finally starting to show some life, they need to get back to their stingy defense from the beginning of the season in 2017.

Consistent 3-point Shooting

As a team the Magic have been hit or miss from beyond the arc. The team has a habit of falling in love with the 3-point shot even when it’s not falling. For instance, both Serge Ibaka and Aaron Gordon took 5 three pointers each in a loss to the Pacers, connecting on 1 of 10. This cannot happen if you are going to have any chance of winning in the NBA. Gordon and Ibaka should have the green light from beyond the arc, but only if they are open. It also doesn’t help that both Jodie Meeks and Jeff Green can be streaky shooters from downtown. If the shots are not falling the Magic need to get it done inside the arc.