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The NBA has finalized a 22-team field that is set to continue playing this season after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the year to a halt, and the Orlando Magic are the eighth ranked team in Eastern Conference with a 30-35 record.
The regular season is set to resume on July 31, and the Magic are 1⁄2 a game behind a Brooklyn Nets team that’s without Kyrie Irving and could very well move up a spot before the playoffs. The Washington Wizards are 5 1⁄2 games back from the eighth seed and would need to close the gap to within four games to force a play-in series.
Orlando has been one of the most up-and-down teams in the NBA this year, as it’s beaten some of the best teams in the league, but also lost to some of the worst. It’s become exceedingly weak at the small forward position, but could benefit from getting one of the best wing players, if he’s healthy enough to play.
Jonathan Isaac suffered a dislocated his knee and suffered a bone bruise amid a breakout year in January, and the swingman raises Orlando’s upside on both ends of the court and said he’d like to return when this year if he’s completely healthy when the season resumes, but president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman says the Magic are operating with caution. Al-Farouq Aminu is also a forward also recovering from a knee injury. He tore his meniscus earlier this season, but is not likely to return this year.
Orlando’s group Markelle Fultz, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic make up a strong core, but its odds to make the playoff and win a title won’t improve without getting some assistance from injured players.
Orlando Magic Championship Odds
The Magic’s odds to make the playoffs are strong at -10000, but their championship odds haven’t changed since the new playoff format was introduced. Their title odds haven’t budged from the +30000 mark it reached on DraftKings Sportsbook on May 13.
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