Predicting the Orlando Magic’s 2014-15 Win Total

By Kareem Gantt on October 22, 2014

Predicting the final win total for the Orlando Magic in 2014-15 is more difficult than it has been the past two seasons. It’s hard because we knew that the Magic would be one of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams, and last season, Orlando lived up to the hype of being the East stinkers. Truth be told, it was painful to watch the Magic last season.

But the Magic of 2014-15 have far more pieces to work with than the Magic of 2013-14. The bench is deeper, and the starting lineup is full of young talent. Nikola Vucevic, who was recently awarded with a four-year, $54 million contract extension, should develop into the best center in the East.

Tobais Harris, who should be next in line to get a generous contract extension, will blossom into one of the East’s best forwards. Combine those two with star-in-the-making Victor Oladipo and potential Rookie of the Year candidate Elfrid Payton, and you have a lineup that should compete with the best the East has to offer.

But what is holding the Magic back from ultimate greatness is head coach Jacque Vaughn, who has yet to prove that he is capable of leading a team to the playoffs. Yes, Vaughn got a pass because the team was horrible the past two seasons, but this will not be an excuse in 2014-15. If Vaughn cannot deliver, then he will be looking for another job.

So given all of the above, I am going to predict that the Magic will win 40 games and just barely make the playoffs. And maybe in 2015, Mark Jackson can lead Orlando back to the glory days.

Kareem Gantt is a featured writer and covers the Orlando Magic for Rant Sports. For more from this author, ‘follow’ him on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook, and ‘add’ him to your network on Google.