As the start of a new NBA season approaches, rosters are set for the most part and players are trickling into practice facilities as they gear up for training camp. For the Orlando Magic, a team fresh off a playoff appearance last season (first since 2012), it will be a year of optimism and playoff expectations. This upcoming season will also mark the 10th anniversary of the 2009-2010 Magic team that went 59-23 before falling short in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics. One could argue this was the most talented team from top to bottom in franchise history.
Flashback to the Summer of 2009. Orlando was just coming off of an NBA Finals appearance in which they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. With their playmaking forward and unofficial go-to-scorer Hedo Turkoglu set to hit free agency, GM Otis Smith decided to shuffle the deck and make a draft day deal that brought in Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie. Consequently, Turkoglu was let go in free agency much to the chagrin of Magic fans who were puzzled as to why they opted to have Carter instead. Orlando made a few under the radar moves in free agency that helped bolster their depth by signing Jason Williams, Matt Barnes, and Brandon Bass. They also chose to match the offer sheet (5-year, $34 million) from the Dallas Mavericks of backup center Marcin Gortat.
When you look at the team’s depth chart, there were very few weaknesses on this roster. Size, shooting, toughness, star power, and specialists. Let’s compare it to the other two finals’ teams.
While the 94-95’ team had the best starting lineup of the other teams, they didn’t possess the talent and depth off the bench.
Out of the gate, the 09’-10’ Magic ran out to records of 17-4 and 24-8 but then struggled by losing seven out of nine and settling in at 26-15 through the first 41 games of the season.
However, the pure dominance Orlando showed the last 41 games of the year was astounding. They posted a mark of 33-8 and went on to sweep the Charlotte Bobcats (4-0 first round) and Atlanta Hawks (4-0 conference semis) before falling to the championship-tested Celtics in a disappointing eastern conference finals (2-4).
The incredible run this team posted the last 49 games of the season (including the first two rounds of the playoffs), at 41-8 is backed up in statistical and advanced metrics. Orlando finished 4th in offensive rating, 3rd in defensive rating, 1st in average margin of victory (7.49), and 1st in SRS (which takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule; source: Basketball Reference). The Magic also made (10.3) and attempted (27.3) the most three-point field goals in the entire league. Defensively, Orlando also ranked first in opponents' effective field-goal percentage as well as defensive rebound percentage. This team was dominant on both sides of the ball, making them a well-balanced unit led by the great tactician Stan Van Gundy.
One of the underlying attributes of this 09’-10’ team is that the players genuinely enjoyed playing with one another. I can remember them engaging in shooting competitions after practices and throwing down dunk contests during pregame warmups. Remember the Magic show?https://youtu.be/qKmuN0ddmRM
But in the end it is what you accomplish in the postseason, and this group fell short. Matchups are everything. The 08’-09’ Magic team that surprised everyone on their way to the Finals caught a break by defeating a KG-less team in the conference semis. Orlando then dethroned King James in the conference finals courtesy of the Cavs inability to match up well with them. The 09’-10’ team was arguably more talented than the 08’-09’ Finals team yet ran into an unfavorable matchup in the conference finals. Had they faced another opponent, it’s not out of the question we would have had a repeat of the 2009 Finals, with the Magic possibly getting revenge of the Lakers and hoisting their very first Larry O’Brien trophy.
