The Magic have been cycling through lineups of uninspiring role-players for a couple years now. Every year, it seems like they could maybe be good, but every year, they’re not. The Detroit Pistons model of winning a chip was a lofty goal, but a Atlanta Hawks-style consistent playoff team shouldn’t have been to hard, right? I guess it was, because the Magic have been in purgatory for a long time.
Maybe this is the year things change? Maybe this is the random assortment of role-players that leads them to the promised land? I’m not seeing any great improvement over last year in terms of roster quality, but the truth is this: they just spanked the Cavaliers, IN CLEVELAND. Hard. They repeatedly and forecfully spanked LeBron’s ass with a paddle until it was bright red.
If this is indeed a year of success for the Magic (it probably isn’t TBH but I’m super hyped right now), then Jonathon Simmons will probably be pointed to as a reason for it. He’s basically everything you want in a role-player, he plays defense with intensity no matter what, and he’s added little bits of offense here and there so that he’s become a decent all-around player. 19 points tonight isn’t the most insane thing ever, but I figure that Spurs fans will want to see how their former prodigy is doing.