by Nick Bell
The NBA playoffs have begun, and our hometown team, the Orlando Magic, qualified for a spot this year - ending a 7 year playoff drought. This season, under new coach Steve Clifford, the Magic boasted a 42-40 record, which placed them in the seventh seed in the east. The Magic also had one of their players receive an all star nod this year. Nikola Vucevic was a first-time all star, and the first Magic player to receive this honor since Dwight Howard.
The Magic started the first round with a bang, defeating the Raptors in a close 104-101 win. DJ Austine scored 25 points, including a go-ahead 3 with just seconds to go. This game put social media into a frenzy as nobody expected a Magic win in game one. There was also much frenzy over the fact that Raptors' star point guard, Kyle Lowry, was held to zero points in the game.
The Magic would unfortunately go on to lose the next four games and be eliminated from this year's playoffs, but the fact that they made it there says a lot. This season was a 17-win improvement from last season where they only won 25 games. This improvement has put Steve Clifford into the coach of the year race. Though unlikely to win the award, it's great to see a Magic coach get some spotlight for the right reasons.
The Magic went into this series with all of their players having little to no playoff experience. This season will be a stepping stone for future Magic teams as they continue to try and build a contender for the eastern conference crown. Magic fans have a lot to be excited for, as the Magic have a young core of talent that will be around for years to come!
