Do You Believe? - An Orlando Magic Franchise Story(NBA 2k15/PS4)

[qpc123]

Do You Believe? - An Orlando Magic Franchise Story

[qpc123]

2014-15 Season Preview

There is no "right way" to rebuild an NBA franchise. Ideally, a franchise just five years removed from a trip to the NBA Finals would not be a "rebuilding position." But, that is where the Orlando Magic find themselves, heading into year three of the "Post Dwight" era. With a nucleus of young talent and the addition of some veteran leadership, the Magic may have the pieces in place to push closer towards the top 8 in the Eastern Conference than they have in the past few years.

Unfortunately for the Magic the Southeast Division is shaping up to be the toughest the Eastern Conference with Miami, Washington, Charlotte and Atlanta all being playoff contenders.

While postseason success may not be in cards for Orlando right now, the young talent they have acquired gives them plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future.

Top Offensive Player
With the departure of Arron Afflalo(18.2 points per game), the competition to lead the Magic in offense will be wide open. The Magic’s point of emphasis during this years draft seemed to be adding defensive-minded players in Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton, players not known to light it up on the scoreboard so the team will likely turn to someone already on the roster to pace its scoring each night. That player could very well be Tobias Harris, who will be entering his fourth season in the league. Last season, Harris averaged 14.6 points a game while shooting just 26 percent from three-point range. He suffered an ankle injury in the preseason last year and was said to have never fully recovered. Despite the dip in offense last season, Harris was second in scoring behind Afflalo. He is now said to be completely healthy and should be poised to lead the team in scoring.

Top Defensive Player
The Magic’s defense last season was good for a middle-of-the-pack ranking. The team gave up 102 points per game to opponents, which was good for 17th-best in the league. The team’s best individual defender is Maurice Harkless. The 21-year-old has the size and athleticism to become a perennial defender and, because of that, is often tasked with guarding the league’s top wings in which Harkless holds his own on most nights. In addition to Harkless, the team has brought in defensive players in Gordon and Payton through this year’s draft and Oladipo through last year’s draft. The Magic drafted those three players in hopes to bring the team to the top of the league in defense and they could very well be there in a couple of seasons. At 6’4, Payton has great length to guard opposing point guards and his quick hands will enable him to knock a lot of balls loose. Gordon’s athleticism is outstanding and will allow him to stay very active on the defensive side of the ball. Oladipo had a very solid first season on the defensive side and finished tied for 15th in the league with 1.61 steals per game.

Top Playmaker
This position will also be up for grabs this season with Jameer Nelson and Afflalo no longer in the picture. Orlando will turn to rookie point guard Payton to lead the offense and be the team’s playmaker. Payton has earned early comparisons to Rajon Rondo after his showing in the Orlando Summer League and overall skillset. In five games in the Summer League, Payton averaged 9.2 points, seven assists and 5.2 rebounds per game, including two near triple-doubles. Last season, the Magic experimented with Oladipo at point guard, but the outcome was met with mixed results. After drafting Payton, Oladipo will go back to his natural two-guard position and thus become a better scoring option for the Magic. Payton’s ability to spread the ball around will enable head coach Jacque Vaughn to get guys like Harris, Harkless and newcomer Channing Frye looks from three-point range.

Orlando Magic Depth Chart - 2014-15
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Elfrid Payton	Luke Ridnour
SG	Victor Oladipo	Evan Fournier	Ben Gordon	Willie Green
SF	Tobias Harris	Maurice Harkless	Devyn Marble
PF	Channing Frye	Aaron Gordon	Kyle O'Quinn
C	Nikola Vucevic	Andrew Nicholson	Dewayne Dedmon

[qpc123]

Matchup Preview | October 28, 2014
	@
Orlando Magic (0-0, 0-0 Away)		New Orleans Pelicans (0-0, 0-0 Home)
Projected Starters Elfrid Payton Point Guard Jrue Holiday Evan Fournier Shooting Guard Eric Gordon Tobias Harris Small Forward Tyreke Evans Kyle O'Quinn Power Forward Anthony Davis Nikola Vucevic Center Omer Asik

[neil30]

hi mate,but off topic, but are you doing your annual 95-96 roster this year?

[michaellowll]

Definitely, I will follow and I hope that A. Gordon's will be the first off the bench and he will not only focus on defending

[qpc123]

Davis and Pelicans dominate in rout of Magic
NEW ORLEANS -- Coming off this summers FIBA World Cup win, the New Orleans Pelicans were expecting a big season from Anthony Davis.

Both Davis and the Pelicans looked good on opening night.

Eric Gordon scored 23 points to go with Davis' 16 points and 22 rebounds in New Orleans 102-86 rout of Orlando.

Tobias Harris scored 20 points and Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic, who never led in the second half.

The Pelicans shot 51% on their way to easy win, something Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said was "tough to fathom."

"Give them a lot of credit for their aggressiveness and physicality that they played with," Vaughn added. "It stares you in the face. That was the difference."

The Pelicans' lead got as large as 23 when a Davis putback made it 97-74 with 3:26 left.

Orlando led by as many as six points in the first quarter on Vucevic's layup, but the Pelicans controlled the second quarter and took a 47-40 just seconds before halftime.

Magic rookie point guard Elfird Payton started in his first NBA game in his hometown. Payton is from suburban New Orleans and played his college ball at Louisiana-Lafayette. He had six points, eight assists and three rebounds. "It was good being able to play in front of my family and friends," Payton said. "At times we played well. We have to pick it up on defense and have to get to the boards."

Evan Fournier started along side Payton in place of Victor Oladipo(still recovering from a MCL strain) and filled in nicely with 21 points. Look for him to remain at the starting SG spot until Oladipo(Day-to-Day) returns.

UP NEXT
Orlando hosts the Washington Wizards in its regular-season home opener Thursday night.

Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans
Oct 28, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Orlando (0-1)	26	14	22	24	86
New Orleans (1-0)	21	28	32	21	102

Orlando Magic
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kyle O'Quinn, PF	24	2-7	0-0	1-2	6	0	1	1	0	5
Tobias Harris, SF	35	9-17	0-2	2-2	4	1	1	1	2	20
Nikola Vucevic, C	31	6-14	0-0	3-6	16	0	0	0	0	15
Elfrid Payton, PG	33	1-6	0-1	4-4	3	8	1	1	1	6
Evan Fournier, SG	33	8-18	3-9	2-4	2	2	1	0	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Ben Gordon, SG	20	5-8	1-1	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	11
Aaron Gordon, PF	26	2-4	0-0	0-0	5	0	0	0	1	4
Dewayne Dedmon, C	10	1-2	0-0	0-2	5	0	0	0	1	2
Luke Ridnour, PG	15	1-4	0-1	0-0	0	3	0	0	1	2
Devyn Marble, SF	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	2	0	0	0	0
Willie Green, SG	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	2	0
TEAM TOTALS		35-80	4-14	12-20	43	17	5	3	10	86

New Orleans Pelicans
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Anthony Davis, PF	33	8-13	0-0	0-0	22	2	1	1	1	16
Tyreke Evans, SF	37	7-16	3-6	0-2	2	3	2	0	2	17
Omer Asik, C	34	3-4	0-0	0-0	10	1	0	1	0	6
Jrue Holiday, PG	37	7-12	1-3	0-0	5	7	3	1	2	15
Eric Gordon, SG	33	8-18	2-4	5-6	1	4	1	0	1	23
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Darius Miller, SF	9	3-6	0-1	2-2	0	1	0	0	0	8
Jimmer Fredette, SG	15	3-10	0-1	1-1	0	2	1	0	2	7
Austin Rivers, PG	11	3-4	0-0	0-2	1	5	0	0	0	6
Jeff Withey, C	13	2-2	0-0	0-0	3	1	1	0	0	4
Ryan Anderson, PF	18	0-1	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		44-86	6-15	8-13	47	26	9	3	8	102

[qpc123]

Matchup Preview | October 30, 2014
	@
Washington Wizards (0-1, 0-1 Away)		Orlando Magic (0-1, 0-0 Home)
Projected Starters John Wall Point Guard Elfrid Payton Bradley Beal Shooting Guard Evan Fournier Paul Pierce Small Forward Tobias Harris Nene Power Forward Channing Frye Marcin Gortat Center Nikola Vucevic

[Jumpman14]

Tough 1st game. Davis was grabbing boards like a mad man.