Can somebody tell me where the buzz is?<\/p>\n
Seriously, where is it?<\/p>\n
The Orlando Magic opened their season Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks at the Kia Center, and even with a new coach making his NBA debut, I\u2019m still searching for that groundswell of excitement, that feverish anticipation, that unmistakable electricity that usually accompanies a team supposedly on the verge of something special.<\/p>\n
Oh, don\u2019t get me<\/a> wrong. The Kia Center was packed. The fans cheered. Stuff made everybody smile. The lights flashed. The music blared. The T-shirt cannons fired. And Sean Sweeney made his head-coaching debut in the 132-125 loss<\/a> to the Hawks.<\/p>\n But, nationally, the Magic barely register a blip on the NBA\u2019s hype meter. And even locally, there\u2019s a distinct difference between this season and last season, when the Magic had just traded for Desmond Bane and fans were giddy about the possibilities of a young, ascending team.<\/p>\n This year? Meh.<\/p>\n And maybe \u2014 just maybe \u2014 that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n \u201cI hated (the hype) of last summer,\u201d Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman told me earlier this week. \u201cI love not being included among the elite groups in the East. Just forget about us, let us go to work and let us have a modicum of health so we can come out and show who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Bane: \u201cLast year, people spent all preseason talking about how we were going to make a deep postseason run. What did that get us?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not surprising that the Magic have gone from last year\u2019s darlings to this year\u2019s discarded toy. Let\u2019s face it, we live in a society addicted to NEW. We want the new iPhone, the new Tesla, the new Netflix series, the new restaurant everybody\u2019s posting about on Instagram. We don\u2019t want last year\u2019s model, even if last year\u2019s model still works perfectly fine.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s essentially the Magic\u2019s problem. They\u2019re last year\u2019s model.<\/p>\n Except, of course, for Sweeney.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing: This isn\u2019t college football, where a new coach can electrify a fan base just by winning the introductory press conference. The NBA is a player\u2019s league. Nobody is buying season tickets because Sean Sweeney is drawing up a new out-of-bounds play.<\/p>\n Sweeney isn\u2019t a celebrity coach. He isn\u2019t a household name. He isn\u2019t arriving with a championship ring and a suitcase full of guarantees. He\u2019s a respected NBA assistant getting his first opportunity to run his own team.<\/p>\n And perhaps that\u2019s exactly what the Magic need.<\/p>\n Not a coach who wins the news conference. A coach who eventually wins a playoff series.<\/p>\n Of course, the Magic have a lot of work to do before then. Despite Paolo Banchero\u2019s 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds against the Hawks, the Magic had 20 turnovers and shot 1 of 12 from 3-point range in the decisive fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Sweeney admitted afterward that he envisioned having a better feeling after his inaugural game as an NBA coach, but added: \u201cAfter the first game, we\u2019ve definitely got a lot of teachable moments.\u00a0 \u201cWe can definitely improve in the vast majority of areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Make no mistake, Sweeney inherits a talented but frustrating team. Same stars. Same supporting cast. Same injury concerns. Same questions about their three-point shooting.<\/p>\n The Magic have lost in the first round of the playoffs three consecutive seasons. They\u2019re still one of the NBA\u2019s youngest teams, but they\u2019re not the league\u2019s adorable little upstarts anymore.<\/p>\n Magic fans have heard the promises. Now they want the payoff.<\/p>\n We had Weltman on our radio show earlier this week, and after he hung up, the reaction from listeners was decidedly cynical.<\/p>\n One listener summed it up perfectly: \u201cListening to Weltman feels like I\u2019m watching Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. \u2018If we can stay healthy.\u2019 \u2026 \u2018We\u2019ve got a really young team.\u2019 \u2026 \u2018We hope to have him back soon\u2019 \u2026 It\u2019s the same thing every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Ouch.<\/p>\n But is the listener wrong?<\/p>\n Weltman has been preaching patience, development and health for years. At some point, those explanations begin to sound less like a blueprint and more like a broken record.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where I\u2019m going to lose some of you because I actually agree with Weltman. I believe this team, if healthy, can contend in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n I believe if Franz Wagner hadn\u2019t injured his calf and missed the final three games against Detroit last postseason, the Magic wouldn\u2019t have blown a 3-1 series lead. I believe they would have advanced to the second round. And who knows what happens from there?<\/p>\n As Weltman said earlier this week, \u201cThe margins are so thin in today\u2019s NBA. The Hawks went up 2-1 last year in the first round against New York and then the Knicks go on a crazy run and end up winning the title. One of my friends in the league told me a couple of years ago, \u2018If you can get to the second round of the playoffs then anything can happen.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s right, but that\u2019s a big \u2018IF\u2019 for a Magic team who hasn\u2019t been to the second round in 16 years. That\u2019s why this season shouldn\u2019t be championship-or-bust. It should be second-round-or-bust.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the measuring stick for Sweeney. Not whether he creates excitement in October, but whether he creates victories in April. Not whether he changes the national narrative, but whether he changes the postseason results.<\/p>\n Maybe the Magic don\u2019t need the hype this year. Maybe they need something much more meaningful.<\/p>\n Belief.<\/p>\n And belief isn\u2019t manufactured by marketing departments, slick hype videos or breathless preseason predictions. It\u2019s earned by winning games that matter, beating teams you\u2019re not supposed to beat and finally delivering when the pressure is greatest.<\/p>\n For years, the Magic have sold their fans on promise, potential and the tantalizing prospect of what this young team might someday become.<\/p>\n But someday has to arrive sometime.<\/p>\n The Magic have a new coach, but they\u2019re still trying to escape the same old story.<\/p>\n Sean Sweeney wasn\u2019t hired to make the Magic the talk of the NBA in October.<\/p>\n He was hired to make them relevant in April and May.<\/p>\n If he does that, the buzz will take care of itself.<\/p>\n Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my radio show \u201cGame On\u201d every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com\/listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can somebody tell me where the buzz is? Seriously, where is it? 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