Orlando Magic centers’ improvement is KEY to team’s postseason hopes

Orlando Magic centers’ improvement is KEY to team’s postseason hopes

It’s the next big focus in the Orlando Magic’s quest to one day maybe win a championship. So, let’s talk about the center rotation today on Locked on Magic. You are Locked On Magic, your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And you are indeed locked on Magic. Today is July 23rd, 2025. My name is Philip Rossman. I’m the senior writer over at Orlando Magicaily.com. Credentialed member of the Orlando Magic media since the 2012 season. On today’s episode of Lockdown Magic, the Orlando Magic added a new center to the rotation with a two-way signing. We’ll get to that at the end of the show, but it’s a good time to sit down and talk a little bit about what the Magic expect from their centers and what that rotation’s going to be like. A lot of familiar names, but a whole lot more pressure today on Lockdown Magic. But before we do any of that, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. No matter when you listen to us, whether it’s first thing in the morning, whether it’s right when we upload, we truly appreciate you making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. We truly appreciate all of our Orlando Magic dailies who make locked on Magic part of their day, five days a week, every episode. Thank you so much for coming along this ride. Thanks for chilling with us in the summer. We’ll be uh we’ll be scaling back a little bit here in the next few weeks as we try to enjoy our offseason just a little bit. It’s all part of Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. The Orlando Magic have secured their entire starting lineup. Let’s let’s just start there. Contractually, the Orlando Magic starting five is set in stone. Paul Vancer signed a max contract. He’s under contract for six more years with that player option on that final year. Fran Vager is just starting his five-year extension. Jaylen Suggs is just starting his five-year extension. Desmond Bane was acquired with very much the idea that he has four years left on his contract. And Wendell Carter begins a three-year extension next season. So, the Orlando Magic starting five is set. in a starting five. We didn’t get to see very much last year when Kavius Klo Pope was on the roster instead of Desmond Bane because of all the injuries, but this is the group the Magic are rolling with. And look, there’s a lot of hope and a lot of optimism about what this team can do. There there’s a lot of belief in what this group is capable of doing, but we don’t know quite yet how this is all going to work out. Certainly, we don’t know what this is going to look like and what this is going to entail as the Magic get deeper and deeper and deeper into the playoffs. We did a whole episode on window Carter earlier this week on Monday and in that episode I talked about how there’s a lot of pressure on Window Carter. We could talk about point guard, we could talk about all those other things. the next spot that’s under the magnifying glass, the next scapegoat spot, if you will, is going to be the center position because there are a lot of fair questions to ask about Wendell Carter. And and and we’ve addressed these over the years. I I don’t think this is new. Wendell Carter is solid at a lot of things. He’s a great defender. He is a versatile defender. He can defend on the perimeter just as easily as he does in the paint. He theoretically is a good shooter. Obviously, not last year. No one was a good shooter last year. There is there are a lot of things that Wendell Carter is good at for this Magic team, but he has to put it all together. And that’s why there’s all this pressure on him. He has to prove that he can be healthy. last year was his healthiest season, believe it or not, at I believe 68 games. Um, healthiest season o of of his career, yet his worst offensive season, averaging fewer than 10 points per game. Well, guess what? The Magic the Magic need him to be around 10, 11, 12 points per game. They need him to be at eight or nine rebounds per game. And if he does that, then it should be a pretty successful year for him because they know what they’re going to get from him defensively. And that’s far more valuable than anything else. But Carter does have to make enough shots to keep defenses honest. He has to be an offensive threat. And so if that shot’s not falling, he needs to roll hard to the rim. And that’s where everybody points out his big weaknesses. That’s where everybody points out, well, he’s not the kind of center that wins in the NBA. And I’ll agree to some extent on that. I think again, that’s that’s something that has to be proven. I don’t think we’ve been able to prove it conclusively, but it sure leans in that direction. Not enough to throw the experiment out, not enough to say, “Oh, we don’t believe in this guy. He does a lot of good things.” But we’re getting to the point where, you know, we’re going to get to a second round series against Cleveland, against New York, against Detroit, against Atlanta, and Wendell Carter has to hold his own. He cannot be the weak link. Now again, like the playoffs this year were very encouraging. After a poor playoff series against Cleveland, he played pretty well against Boston. Double double, averaged 10 points per game. Only player besides Paulo and France to average double double figures. Um 10 rebounds, 10 11 rebounds per game. Um defended the perimeter well. Yeah, the stats would say that Jaylen Brown got him a bunch, but he made things difficult. They made them take mid-range jumpers. He was a lynch pin to the Magic’s defensive strategy, specifically against that Boston team and their three-point shooting ability. And so, the Magic certainly, I think, feel comfortable with Wendell Carter and now hopefully with a healthy offseason. Remember, last offseason, he was dealing with a hand injury. He didn’t get to work out as much. He even admitted he didn’t come come into the into camp quite where he wanted to be. Hopefully with a healthy off seasonason we see the kind of improvements, the kind of the kind of growth that Wendell wants to make as much as fans do. But that bit about being in the paint, that is still the big hangup for a lot of people. And look, I I’m I’m not here to dissuade you and say, “No, that’s that’s that’s not a thing.” And and it’s no, it is a thing. He looked good in the playoffs last year. That’s very encouraging. But there is definitely something to Wendo Carter is not an above the room center. He is not a vertical center. We talk a lot about spacing on the floor a lot. I do think one thing this Magic team is missing is vertical spacing. The reason why Goa Patad, and we’ll get to him in a minute, the reason why Goa Patad works so well is because you could throw a throw a ball above the rim and he’s going to go get it. He’s going to go fly in to block a shot. That’s not Wendell Carter’s game. Wendell Carter does struggle with second jumps. He’ll go up for the rebound. He’s not going to be able to power up and and and get a dunk immediately, uh, you know, get that second jump up quickly. He’s not there to block a ton of shots. That’s not his game. Now, what Wendell is very good at and was better at than Goabat than Movager, certainly than Movager last year, Wendell Carter defends his position well. He doesn’t give up space. And so while you may not get those crazy block shots, which you know I I do tend to agree when you get to the playoffs, especially deeper in the playoffs, you need to be able to make plays. Like at the end of the day, a playoff game comes down to Giannis Antenna Kmpo blocked DeAndre Aton’s alip Drew Holiday dug out that steal. I know those those plays were three years ago now or you know three years ago now but playoff games come down to chaos at times and that’s a reality that like Wendell Carter is just very solid and so maybe the Magic will you lose a playoff series and say we need to improve our center position. We need someone who can make some plays right now. Wendell Carter is a good fit. He needs to play better. I’m not sitting here saying he was perfect last year, but he is a good fit for what the Magic are trying to accomplish. But now we are entering new territory. We keep mentioning this. The Magic have said it out loud. We want to win a championship. The question Wendell Carter has to begin answering this season is whether he can be the starting center on a championship contender. Whether any of these weaknesses, both perceived and real, actually mean something later in the postseason. actually are a a demerit actually do hurt this team’s ability to elevate their game. We’re going to talk about this at some point this summer. I have to just get around to it. Over the last in the 2024 season, the Magic had the worst record against teams above 500 among playoff teams, among the postseason teams in the Eastern Conference. I think they were tied with Chicago or something. Last year, they were tied with Miami and I think only ahead of Chicago again in that metric. The Magic are really good at feasting on bad teams. And look, you got to do that. You got to build up wins, stack up wins. You can’t be losing to the Washingtons. You can’t be losing to the Charlottes. You can’t, you know, no offense to those teams. You can’t be losing to the bad. You can’t be losing to the Brooklyn’s. You’ve got to beat those teams and pummel them. But to win in the to win in the biggest stages, you got to beat the good teams. You got to beat Cleveland consistently. They got one win against Cleveland last year. It’s not like the Magic can’t win these games, but they got to win them consistently. And that’s why everybody has to step their game up. For that reason, then let’s talk about the center position in general and its responsibilities. We’ll talk about Govatz and Moagner and what they bring to the table coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of A Lockdown Magic is brought to our friends over at FanDuel. Summer sports are in full swing, and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or a high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. You’re already following the action, so why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. FanDuel allows you to track your favorite matchups. The app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It’s easy to use, fast to payout makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events. Whether you’re placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride to the end, FanDuel makes it feel like you are part of the action. If you’re new to FanDuel, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. So, let’s talk about the center position in general. Let’s talk about it a little bit more generally. Um, this center rotation is very well established. Wendell Carter is going to be the starter. I don’t think anyone’s going to really complain or argue that. Wendell just offers more versatility and and more varied skills. Mo Vagner when he is healthy and assuming he gets healthy and gets back up to speed, he’s going to come off the bench. He is your aor off the bench. He is someone that’s that just knows how to put the ball in the basket, is aggressive on offense, screens well, plays hard for everybody. He may not be the best defender, but he knows where to be. He knows his own weaknesses. He doesn’t try to do anything beyond himself. And goat is frankly a luxury. and and we’ll talk about at some point this summer because it’s it’s on the horizon. We know it’s there. Um at some point, yeah, Goget is probably going to be a cap casualty as the Magic try to lower their tax bill, avoid the second apron, any of that stuff, or just get more value for that contract. At $8 million for a Goget is is a lot of money even if he is really valuable and really important to this team. Go Patad is good to fill in as a spot starter when Wendell Carter misses games. And look, Wendo Carter, like I mentioned, played 60 played 68 games last year. He’s still never played 70 games in his career. You have to plan on him missing 15 games a season. So goat as a starting center is is vital at this point. Um he’ll play he’ll be the backup center until mid December. And you know what you’re going to get from Gogabad? He’s going to give you some vertical spacing. He’s going to get above the rim. He’s going to run pick and rolls. He’s solid in the high post as a passer. He’s not much of an offensive threat out there. uh this three he’s trying to be a three-poin shooter. He’s trying to develop his three-point shot. It’s not quite it wasn’t quite game ready last year. Um and he’s going to defend he’s going to be a physical defender. Um the Celtics unfortunately learned that and he was not good in that Celtics series. Um he’s got to be a physical defender and shot blocker and gobble up rebounds. The Magic may not have the best center in the league, but they have a really strong threeman center rotation. We’ll talk about what Orlando Robinson could bring this team as a two-way player in our last segment. So, I’m not forgetting Orlando Robinson yet. We’re going to we’re going to get to him here in a minute, but a lot of people just don’t assume the Magic have great centers. I look at the comments whenever I talk about Wendell Carter and I see, oh, the Magic are just such a poor rebounding team. Well, that’s not true. Orlando last year finished sixth in the league in defensive rebound rate at 72%. The Magic were an excellent rebounding team. Now, there were untimely offensive rebounds throughout the course season, but that’s any team could have those. On average, the Magic were one of the best rebounding teams in the league last year. They gain rebound and and honestly like losing Cole Anthony is going to hurt a little, but he’s a really good rebounder for a guard. The Magic going to have to replace that somewhere. Um block shots. A lot of people a lot of people tell me, “Oh, the Magic don’t block any shots.” Well, the Magic last year in the regular season at least led the league in blocks with six per game. They block a lot of shots. They may not come necessarily from their centers. And look, Goa Patad is an excellent shot blocker. They don’t necessarily come from their centers, but the Magic do get their share of blocks. The issue with the Magic and and this is just the way that they play. This is the way they’re designed is they do everything by committee as Jal Mosley likes to say. They are a lot of these problems that that people say are this is a center issue. Centers have to do this. The Magic just don’t believe that. Like yes, they need a big guy to defend the other big guys in the league. You know, did Wendell Carter get overpowered by Avita Zubas? Yeah, sure. Everybody does. Um, Ivita Zubas is one of the six or seven best centers in the league at this point. And if you don’t know that, so be it. Um, yeah, the Magic need to improve. Like, this is I’m not sitting here saying like, “Oh, it’s perfect. Don’t change. You’re you’re you’re perfect. Don’t change. Stay the same forever.” No, the Magic need to improve. And and look, in the playoffs, it’s a different animal. And and I think the Magic what the Magic are going to learn this year is whether their center rotation can stand up to a real playoff series. We’re not, you know, first round series are great and they’re important and you got to win them, but the real stuff happens after the the Flatsom and Jetsum are gone. After the seven and eight seed are gone, after the six seed is gone. That six seeds just very rarely win. And I know one won one last year. I know a seven seed won LA I know that a seven seed won last year in the playoffs. Like I know an eight seed went to the finals a few years ago. Like I I get that. Um, the Magic are going to have to are going to learn just how good their center rotation is when they get deeper into the playoffs and when they’re favored to win a playoff series and they say, “Oh, we struggled against the Bucks. We struggled against well the Bucks Giannis and Giannis is his own animal. Um, we struggled against Miami in that first round series because Bam Adabio and Kel Wear who had really good games in that January game that double overtime game because they dominated us on the interior. They dominated us on the inside. Okay? Like that’s part, you know, that’s part of the thing you have to learn. That’s part of the thing you have to figure out as a team, what you need to get past these teams to to get to the second round to to give yourself a chance to win. I think the Magic Center rotation is more solid than people let on. Um because again, the Magic do everything by committee. They expect everyone to do everything. Do they want Wendell Carter bringing the ball up and playing point guard? No. But I’ve joked that they’re moneyballing the point guard position. They think between Palibane, Carol, France Vagger, Jaylen Suggs, and Desmond Bane, they will get the number of assists or they’ll get the number whatever they expect from a point guard between those four players. They may not have all the skills in one guy, but they have them spread out over multiple guys. And that is a pressure for the defense. It’s the same thing with rebounding. They expect everyone to rebound. They expect a guard to be able to rebound and turn and go and get up the floor quickly. Um, they expect everyone to contribute on that end because they switch so much on defense. They expect everybody to hold their own in the paint and grab rebounds. Now, yeah, there are things that really only centers can do and and look, Wendell Carter has to become a better rebounder and and he had a good rebounding season last year. He took took a step up rebounding last year. I think Wendell Carter understood his struggles on offense and last year really committed to being the best defender he could be. And look, I wouldn’t call him all defensive team or anything like that, but he was really good. You know, you say what you want about Wendell Carter. He was the starting center, the anchor center of the number two defense in the league last year. The Magic were a good defensive team when with him on the floor. And again, that’s partly because of other players as well, but they’re the Magic five for where they are now. What we don’t know is where they’re going to be, and that’s where we’re going to learn a lot this year. We’re going to learn a lot about a lot of players on this roster, as we wanted to learn last year. Last year, we wanted to learn, okay, what does this team actually need to take the next step? And we learned it’s three-point shooting. We’ll get to that tomorrow. Um, we learned that it’s three-point shooting. We learned that it’s we we learned that it’s it’s all of these other things. So that’s where we’re sitting. That’s where we’re looking right now. And that’s where the Magic have to continue to improve. The center rotation is solid. Like I I feel very very comfortable with the Magic center rotation. Wendell Carter is solid for who he is. Novager when he’s healthy in December is going to going to give the Magic that offensive spark that they they’ll need. Goabat, you throw him in there, you give him consistent minutes, you let him get a rhythm, he’s going to make defensive plays and he’s going to spark some wins. He’s going to make some mistakes, too. He’s the most mistakrone of the Magic’s three bigs, but he’s going to make plays and and generally be a positive for your team. There is a lot to like on this Magic roster, but there’s also a lot of work to do. So, last piece of the puzzle, then the Magic added some insurance. We’ll talk what Orlando Robinson’s going to bring to the team, plus the surprise two-way move the Magic made this morning, this Wednesday morning. It’s a good thing I recorded in the morning. We’ll talk about that coming up here in just a moment. Welcome to the Sikos segment as we’re going to talk about two-way players. Um, look, I I will be the first to say I don’t understand what the magic strategy is with these two-way players. Um, they they tend to they tend to favor veteran players with two-way contracts. They tend to favor players who will help Oyola win a lot. Um, because, you know, these players can spend most of their time in OciOla. Um, and I don’t always think that the Magic spend these contracts on players who are going to eventually graduate to the main roster, if that makes sense. Um, I would have loved, you know, when the Magic had two second round picks, I’m very happy they traded for No Appenda. Um, but I would have loved to have seen the Magic try and add a player in the second round with the two-way contract to someone that they can develop and grow uh in that manner and then gradually to the roster, especially since the Magic won’t have draft picks coming up. Um, I would like to see, you know, use that as your draft, as your kind of your draft vehicle. Um, maybe that’s an idea that’s being floated around in the back offices at the Advent Hill Training Center, not a priority this year. Um, the Magic also, the successful two-way players though on the Magic are also pretty clear. Um, the successful two-way players on the Magic are players who play with insane energy. Think Kievon Harris, think Trevan Queen. They defend at a high level. They may not be they may be flawed offensively, but they play with insane effort. Those are the guy, you know, even Admiral Scoffield. Admiral Scoffield was there for vibes, but um those are the players the Magic target with their two-way contracts. Those are the players the Magic want in their system, in their building growing with this team. So, keep all that in mind. On I believe it was Monday, the Magic announced that they had signed Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract. And Orlando Robinson very much I very much fits that bill. He is a veteran big 6’10, you know, pretty big dude. He’s a veteran guy. He’s been around the NBA a little bit. He’s played, I think, three seasons in the NBA. Very little time in the G-League, actually. He’s been an NBA guy. He’s with the Heat. He’s with the Kings. He’s with the Raptors last year. um he’s gotten some opportunity and really kind of showed himself very very capable of of playing in in this league. Um Orlando Robinson played played 44 NBA games with Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings last year. 35 of those including eight starts came with the Raptors. So I want to focus on those 35 games. He averaged 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He shot 34% from three on 1.33 point attempts per game. So, he’s willing to step out and shoot threes. He’s got that versatility. I would say he had he had two 20point games, including a 25 point, 12 rebounds, six assist game with the Philadelphia 76ers. Can already see why the Magic kind of like him. He’s versatile. He’s comfortable shooting threes. He’s comfortable in the high or mid post as a passer and playmaker. He’s a big body who can rebound and finish around the basket. I wouldn’t call him an above the rim guy. I don’t think he’s got like a crazy vertical lead, but yes, he has very, very long arms. He’s a kind of a stocky build. Um he will be at an impediment. He will block some shots just by being present. Um he’s someone that you can grow and throw in for some spot minutes when you need to. Again, like part of the problem right now for the Magic is and a reason why a center had to be a focus for a two-way contract is Mo Vagner is not gonna be back until December. I’m I’m not, you know, I’m not planning to start asking questions about Mo Vagner until Thanksgiving. Um, honestly, I’m not planning to answer question ask questions about him until Thanksgiving. Like, we’ll maybe see him on the court a few times and that’s when we’ll ask questions. Um, but I’m not expecting him back until Christmas. Frankly, I’m not expecting him back until New Year’s Eve, until New Year’s Day. Um, and so the Magic have to plan on going into the into the into the season without moveer for the first half of the year. Then knowing that Wendell Carter is inevitably going to miss 10 to 15 games. Um, I’ve lowered that. It’s not 15 to 20 anymore. It’s 10 to 15. Um, knowing that he’s going to miss games, you need a backup center. And so, yes, Orlando Robinson is 50 plus games that he has in in in his two-way contract, he’s going to get a lot of those minutes early in the season. Um, when the Magic are going to need that because of the injuries that the center position’s already facing. And so, he to me, he’s really insurance. He’s really insurance. And look, he’s shown he can play those two 20 point games, granted against the Sixers, against the Wizards. So, I’m not expecting him to come out and score 25 points every night. That’s not happening. But I expect him to be an energy big around the basket. I expect him to be a solid shot blocker. Um just a solid defensive presence, hit a three here and there, pass the ball, move the ball, screen well. That’s all the Magic want from him. And I think he’s shown in his short stints around the league that he is capable of doing that. and getting some more playing time in OciOla I think will help him again he’s played so little in the G-League it’s it wasn’t even worth looking up his stats um he’s shown that he can play on an NBA floor against NBA players granted maybe tanky NBA players but NBA players nonetheless and so I think that there is something something to build from the Magic like centers who do the things that that Orlando Robinson’s capable of doing like centers who can space the floor, move on the floor, be in different positions that aren’t maybe centers aren’t typically in. That’s stuff that they like. And then on top of that, Robinson does all the stuff that centers typically do. So, I think this is a really good two-way signing. Again, you don’t expect a lot from two-way signings. If two-way players have to play a lot of minutes, like the Magic got to the end of Trevon Queen’s two-way contract last year. He wasn’t able to play in the Atlanta game because the Magic exhausted his two-way eligibility. If you get to that, that means something’s gone wrong in your season. So, look, Orlando Robinson’s probably going to play a lot early in the season. If there are any injuries, he’s going to play toward the back end of the season. The Magic will either move someone to convert his contract or they’ll keep him in the G- League and OciOla will be really, really good again because Dylan Murphy does an incredible job with that OciOla Magic team. And despite how poor the Magic are putting together summer league rosters, they are really good at putting together Ocola Ocola rosters. Before we log off today then big bit of news came across the wires early Wednesday morning. The Magic have waved Ethan Thompson. So the Magic have waved their second their second two-way play their first two-way player. They now have two two-way spots open. Ethan Thompson was signed back in February. He was a really good scorer at Ociola. Averaged like 17, 18, 19 points per game. Um just generally known like Ociola pumps him up as a professional scorer. He’s a guy that puts the ball on the floor, gets to his spots, makes jumpers, um gets to the basket, all that stuff. Um just a really high level score at the G-League. Not high level, but a very good score at the GLeague level. Magic didn’t play him at all last year. He was a late signing. They signed him in February. Um it was probably more to keep him on Oyola and keep and help that team out a little bit more. Um but it, you know, generally I thought like, okay, like Ethan’s got something there. I I was generally excited to see how it developed in summer league and what it might look like as a main two-way guy for the Magic this year. Magic signed a two two-year two-way deal. Unfortunately, just Ethan didn’t play well in Vegas. Just did not have a good showing. Um the Magic tried to use him as a point guard. He really struggled controlling pace at that position. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. He just didn’t look good. And some of it was, yeah, maybe the Magic were asking a little too much of him, but generally like I don’t think he was doing anything on the summer league team that the Magic weren’t already asking. The Magic weren’t already going to ask him to do whether it was at Oyola or when he gets on the main roster. Just not a good enough shooter to um you know, he’s come a long way. like his shots gotten a lot better, but it just either didn’t work out or or you know, again, it’s very very possible that Ethan Thompson sees another opportunity elsewhere, if not in the NBA, somewhere overseas that is better for his career. And the Magic, I think generally, you know, if you approach them with something like that and you’re in that position, they’re going to help you out. Um, we don’t know the answer to that question, but the Magic have opened up another two-way spot. They have two two-way spots left. Um, Ethan just it just it looks like it just didn’t work out. it just wasn’t what either side wanted or what the Magic wanted from him or or whatever the case may be. The Magic now have an extra two-way spot open. So, they have two two-way spots open. Orlando Robinson is under contract. We’ll see who the Magic bring in on exhibit 10ens. I think we’ll see like Alandis Williams from the G- League roster. I think we’ll see Wendell Moore. Again, I’m a I’m getting some push back on this. I I do think Wendell Moore Jr. should get a two-way contract. I think he would be an excellent two-way player for this team. Does everything the Magic really like from their two-way players and their two-way wings especially. I would I would be a little disappointed if they didn’t get Wend no more Moore. I think he’d help Oyola a lot actually too. Um I’d be disappointed if he didn’t get a two-way contract. Um I think he’s he’d be really really good for this team. So we’ll see who the Magic end up inviting to training camp in a couple months. We’ll see who the Magic end up using this two these two spots for. I do think they’ll leave one open like they did last year. So I think they’ll sign one more two-way player. Um they’re going to leave that that last roster spot is going to be left open as well. Um just because they can’t sign anybody because of their cap restrictions. Um, they’ll save that for the mercenary market later in the summer. But that’s going to do it for me. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Lockdown Magic. You can of course find me on Twitter, philipr_momd, and on blue sky, philipr. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast. You’re tuned in, Google Play, Spotify, Odyssey, and all the fun you download podcast to your podcast and able to listen to us. For the latest on the Orlando Magic, be sure to check out Orlando Magicaily.com. You can find us on Twitter, Omagic Daily. And for even more Orlando Magic content, be sure to check out my Patreon page, Orlando Magic Hub, at patreon.com/orlandomagichub. As always, thank you for your support. Now that you’re done making Lockdown Magic your first listen today, go make your second listen to Lockdown NBA podcast, where there is no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. All part of Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. That’s going to do it for me today though. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Lockdown Magic. We’ll be back tomorrow. We’re going to talk about the relationship between Desmond Bane, Paulo Bankro, and France Vagner. Why Desmond Bane’s going to help them and they are going to help Desmond Bane. Offense is the focus tomorrow. We’re going to get to that on tomorrow’s episode of Lockdown Magic. But until then, for Orlando Magic, Daily Lock Magic, this has been Philip Rossman. See you again next time for another episode of Locked On Magic.

The Orlando Magic’s center rotation is under the microscope as the Orlando Magic eye a deeper playoff run. Are Wendell Carter, Moe Wagner and Goga Bitadze up to the task?

Undoubtedly, fans are looking at Carter’s position as the next spot to improve on the roster as the Magic aim to win a title soon. Can the Magic’s center rotation make it through the season and give the team the rim protection and paint presence they need to be successful?

0:00 Intro: Magic’s center rotation focus
5:07 Wendell Carter’s playoff performance and expectations
13:44 Magic’s strong three-man center rotation
18:51 Learning about the team’s needs this season
22:24 Orlando Robinson signing and what he brings
26:58 Ethan Thompson waived, two-way spots open

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