Magic Shuffle the Deck: New Starting Five Set for Raptors Matchup

The Orlando Magic are shuffling the deck for Wednesday night's matchup against the Toronto Raptors, rolling out a starting five of Richardson, Desmond Bane, Anthony Black, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr.

This is the kind of lineup that looks like it was built in a fantasy basketball trade machine at 2 a.m., but it might just be crazy enough to work.

"Lineup alert: Magic will start Richardson, Bane, Black, Wagner, Carter Jr. on Wednesday."

Orlando is coming off a 111-102 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday. That victory was desperately needed to wash out the taste of getting absolutely smoked by the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-93 just a few days earlier.

Handing the keys to Anthony Black while surrounding him with the perimeter firepower of Bane and Wagner is a fascinating roll of the dice. It either clicks into a beautiful, spaced-out offense, or it looks like a chaotic open gym run where everyone is waiting for someone else to call a play.

For the prop market sickos, this starting five is a massive flashing light. Bane and Wagner are going to dominate the usage rate, making their shot attempts a focal point, while Black’s assist potential suddenly gets a lot more intriguing. Just do not go blindly throwing your mortgage on the over until we see how the spacing actually looks on the floor.

We will see if this new-look unit can find its rhythm up north. If it works, the Magic have a blueprint. If it crashes and burns, the good news is they stay in Toronto and get to try it all over again on Friday.