ORLANDO – While the Orlando Magic have undoubtedly used shooting improvements from Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic and better playmaking from Evan Fournier to key a surprising 6-2 start, their biggest gains of all could very well be from a vastly superior group of reserves.
Whereas the Magic often suffered tremendous drop-offs last season when starters such as Fournier, Vucevic and Gordon exited games, this season they have gotten exactly the opposite sort of results. Orlando need to look no further than the previous two games – thrilling come-from-behind wins in New Orleans and Memphis – to know the benefits of having a host of reliable veterans along the second unit.