Should The Orlando Magic Have Tanked This Season?

The main discussion revolving around the Orlando Magic this playoffs will be if they should've tanked this season to get another asset or be a first round exit. The Orlando Magic have ended the season at the 7th place in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have made the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season, ending the longest playoff drought in the Eastern Conference.

Everyone around the league thought that the Magic would be one of the worst teams in the league and compete for a top pick in the draft. They would presumably be going for either Zion or Rj to help them with their future. Instead a team lead by Dj Augustin, Evan Fournier, and Nikola Vucevic got this team to the playoffs.

The key to this incredible Magic season is Steve Clifford. Clifford has came in and gotten the maximum production from all the players on the team. He turned Vucevic into an All-Star and turned Dj Augustin into a a good starter with 11.6 points and 5.3 assists a game. Making it to the playoffs means a great deal for the team and the city of Orlando.

Dwight Howard was on the Magic the last time the Magic made it to the playoffs. Since then Dwight Howard has been with the Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, Hornets, Nets, and Wizards all before the Magic have made the playoffs. Making the playoffs means that the fans of Orlando have something to look forward to. It shows the fans that the team does have a bright future ahead and that all of these bad years they have suffered through is going to be worth it. Ultimately this helps the youth of the group the most, it'll give them the experience they can use to help them later on in their careers.

Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, and Mo Bamba are going to benefit the most from this playoff experience. These players are ultimately the future of the Magic and who they will try to build their team around. The oldest of these players are Gordon, who is 23, he's been on the Magic for the past 5 seasons and is slowly becoming a better player every year. Gordon shows flashes of becoming a Blake Griffin like player, with early in his career being a dunker who turns into a point forward with a shot. This is extremely promising for the Magic as Griffin is an All-NBA 3rd team player this season.

Bamba and Isaac are defensive minded players who are really young in their careers. This playoff experience will give these guys a better idea of what they need to add to their games to help them excel in the postseason. Bamba hasn't been the most productive rookie for the Magic, playing in only 47 games this season, but he shows a lot of promise. Bamba is a 7 foot center who showed in the Preseason he can shoot 3's, which is vital in today's game. Isaac is a defensive minded 7 foot forward who is poised to have his best scoring year next season. This season he has raised his point per game by 4.2 points and has the ability to become a dominating player on both sides of the ball.

The Orlando Magic know what they are doing with the talent they are getting to surround the team with. The ultimate example of this is Michael Carter-Williams. Since signing to the team, the Magic have gone 9-2 with him. This is just a small example of how the right role player can help the team and how the Magic have committed to winning this season.

Ultimately some will try to argue that the Magic made a mistake for not tanking and going for a good pick and keep with the rebuilding plan. However, they made the right move by getting their players experience and showing to their fans that they are moving towards the right direction. They are developing a winning culture there and having the fans demanding wins will help the Magic succeed in the future. The Magic have a great future ahead of them and we can only hope the rest of the Eastern Conference is paying attention to them.