4 Points of Interest to Watch with the Magic’s Lineups This Season

The Orlando Magic are a week and a half away from the beginning of training camp. With the roster mostly set for this season, what points of interest regarding lineup combinations are most important in the 2024-25 NBA season?

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) and forward Jonathan Isaac (1) celebrate a score against the New York Knicks in the third quarter at KIA Center. / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Just over a week from the beginning of training camp, the Orlando Magic’s roster is largely set. The Magic’s 15-man roster is full after offseason signings, re-signings and extensions have been finalized, and Orlando must only decide on two remaining two-way contract slots.

So with that in mind, now feels like a good time to discuss some lineup combinations the Magic could utilize in 2024-25.

Orlando’s 47-win campaign a season ago featured the league’s third-best defensive rating, but a bottom-10 offense in basketball. Outside of the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cory Joseph signings and the departures of Joe Ingles and Markelle Fultz, the Magic are running back a mostly identical rotation.

Are there player combinations the Magic can lean on to fortify its defense once again or, better yet, maintain its presence defensively while finding scoring and playmaking to be easier?

Let’s assess some potential points of interest:

The Starting 5

Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic during an NBA game versus the Washington Wizards. / AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Of the five-man lineups that saw the floor for at least 200 minutes last season, the Magic’s five of Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. posted a 102.1 defensive rating – the NBA’s third-best mark per NBA.com. Now, with Caldwell-Pope likely slotting into Harris’ two-guard spot, the Magic kill two birds with one stone – finding perimeter spacing and another suffocating defender alongside Suggs.

According to Dunks and Threes’ defensive EPM, Caldwell-Pope’s +1.4 defensive EPM is an upgrade over Harris’ +0.1 mark from a season ago. Pairing KCP with Suggs’ +2.7 defensive EPM, which was in the 98th percentile across the league, should be quite the 1-2 at the point of attack.

Caldwell-Pope’s offense primarily revolves around him moving off-ball – fitting given that the last two years of his career were spent alongside Nikola Jokic. The Magic don’t have a passer that compares to the three-time MVP – in fact, no one in the league does – but Orlando will put importance on surrounding Banchero and Wagner with floor spacing. That’s where Caldwell-Pope’s 40.6 3-point field goal percentage, 12.9% usage and 121.4 points per 100 shot attempts (Cleaning the Glass) are welcomed in the Magic offense, which was among the worst in three-point scoring across the NBA last season.

Figuring Banchero, Wagner and Suggs as the Magic’s three highest-usage players this season, as they were a year ago, Caldwell-Pope is a big upgrade.

More Jonathan Isaac experimentation?

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac (1) handles the ball against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

There wasn’t a better defender in basketball than Isaac last season, according to both Dunks and Threes’ defensive EPM model (+4.1) and NBA.com’s individual defensive rating (102.1).

Orlando got 58 games out of its defensive weapon from last season – the second-most in his career – in which opponents scored just 105.6 points per 100 possessions when Isaac was on the floor. The +9.7 differential overall ranked in the 92nd percentile among qualified players, according to Cleaning the Glass. 

Isaac was used sparingly – logging shy of 16 minutes a night through the regular season but expanding to 21.0 minutes in the playoffs.

While most of his time on the court comes with the second unit, Isaac logged 92 possessions in Carter Jr.’s spot among last year’s traditional starting five. Albeit a small sample size, that unit netted a +6.6 differential together. Other combinations between the starters and bench unit with Isaac on the floor saw success in various increments, including a five-man unit with Isaac alongside Cole Anthony, Harris, and both Wagner brothers that compiled a +17.8 differential.

Should Isaac stay available this year, he could be the Magic’s first – and most important – player off the bench on a nightly basis.

And when the Magic’s best defender is on the floor, their ceiling can rise.

Can Anthony Black carve out a second-unit playmaking role?

Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) looks at the scoreboard during the game against the New York Knicks in the first quarter at KIA Center. / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

With Fultz in the rotation last season, Cleaning the Glass estimates that Black spent 75% of his minutes last year at a two-guard role. His usage rate was low – in just the 13th percentile of the NBA – but the Magic’s differential with him at the two-guard spot was +5.2. With Fultz still unsigned, that means the Magic would assign backup ballhandling duties to either Black or Anthony. Due to the scoring nature that Anthony’s game seeks, Black’s second year could see him take the bigger share of the responsibility in leading the second unit.

His offensive game struggled according to Dunks and Threes’ offensive EPM model, but defensively he was still a plus. But Summer League showed signs of promise – Black averaged 4.5 assists in the two games he played in Las Vegas. He also committed 3.0 turnovers a game; a sign of growing pains that Black may need to endure as an NBA-level point guard.

The advancement of his offensive game may be the key to whether or not Orlando feels comfortable sliding some of the playmaking responsibilities in his direction. As a slim workload figures to expand from a season ago, Black must capitalize in 2024-25.

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo said of Black: “His ability to handle the ball, create shots for teammates, and guard multiple positions at a high level makes him a potential difference-maker in the long run. If his offense progresses, there should be an opportunity for Black to help run Orlando’s bench units, which will afford him some valuable playmaking reps and expand his comfort level playing on the ball.”

Backup wing scorer: Caleb Houstan, Jett Howard or Tristan da Silva?

Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva and Jett Howard (left to right) in the Orlando Magic's training facility. / Orlando Magic

In Ingles’ one year in Orlando, he was a valuable scoring wing off the bench behind Franz Wagner, shooting 43.5% from three with a 61.2 true shooting percentage. Ingles averaged 127.6 points per 100 shot attempts last season, which placed him in the 94th percentile in the NBA at his position. Simply, Ingles was the type of specialized shooter all teams dream of.

But Ingles’ departure to Minnesota this offseason leaves a vacancy for a wing scorer in the Magic's second unit. That’s a battle likely to be determined by the performance of either third-year wing Caleb Houstan, second-year shooter Jett Howard or rookie swingman Tristan da Silva. The potential to swing Harris down and run three guards in the bench unit exists as well, but at 6-4, Harris wouldn’t fit the Magic’s theme of positional size at the three – even if in small spurts.

Houstan has the most experience on his side, with 110 games and 17 starts in two seasons. Last season, in 13.8 minutes a night, Houston scored 4.3 points on 38.8% shooting and 37.3% from three on 193 attempts.

Howard barely saw any playing time at the NBA level but scored 18.5 points a game in the G League last year on 37.7% three-point shooting (9.5 attempts a game). He had an impressive Summer League showing as well, leading the Magic in points per game (19.0) while shooting 50% from the field and 47.6% from three.

But da Silva may have something to say about it as well. Orlando’s 18th draft pick in this year’s process was impressive in his own right in Las Vegas, scoring 17.7 points and shooting 58.8% from three on 5.7 attempts a game in three outings.

The Magic likely will experiment a bit with all parties mentioned to iron out the rotation heading into the business end of the season. It’s a big opportunity that likely swaps Ingles’ sharpshooting and experience for one of Orlando’s young guns in the upcoming year. The only question that remains: Who is it?

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