Magic Starting 5: Orlando Falls in Final Regular Season Game vs. Heat

The Magic Insider lists five of the biggest NBA storylines in addition to relevant Orlando Magic news and analysis.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 10, 2023

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Orlando Magic

1. MAGIC DROPS SEASON FINALE VS. HEAT; UDONIS HASLEM SHINES

"On the flip side, Udonis Haslem, the oldest player in the NBA at 42 years young led all scorers with 24 points. In the final regular season game of his career, Haslem scored more points than he had in a game since Nov. 14, 2009 when he dropped 28. To put things in perspective, LeBron James had yet to play a minute for the Heat."

2. JALEN SUGGS GETTING BETTER

“I’m going to get a lot better, and I think everybody has a common goal coming into next year," Suggs said. "We’ve shown that we can do it. Now it’s about everybody doing what they’re supposed to do this summer so that we can go accomplish that.”

3. PAOLO SPEAKS ON ROOKIE YEAR

"We always knew how good we were," Banchero said on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast." "We just didn't have anybody to start the year, me and [Franz Wagner] were playing point guard...Once guys started to come back we started beating a lot of teams. Obviously the league was kinda surprised and whatnot but we knew how good we were."

4. STEPHEN SILAS, DWANE CASEY FIRED

The Houston Rockets are making a change with their head coach, parting ways with Stephen Silas after three seasons with the team, according to The Athletic.

Silas went 59-177 in his tenure with the Rockets and Houston was in the bottom three in the NBA standings in each season with the longtime assistant at the helm.

The Detroit Pistons are also making a change as Dwane Casey announced he would not return to the team.

Casey held a losing record in each of his four seasons with the team.

5. NBA DRAFT LOTTERY COUNTDOWN

The Magic is 36 days away from the NBA Draft Lottery, where it will be revealed if Orlando will have the opportunity to take Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick.

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Published Apr 10, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.