The Magic Are Throwing Darts at a Lineup Board

The Orlando Magic are officially treating their starting rotation like a random name generator. According to Underdog NBA, Orlando is rolling out a Monday starting five of Josh Richardson, Desmond Bane, Jamal Cain, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr.

You do not land on a lineup like this by accident. This is what happens when your franchise cornerstone Paolo Banchero is sidelined with an ankle sprain and your defensive engine Jalen Suggs is nursing a knee bone bruise.

"Lineup alert: Magic will start Richardson, Bane, Cain, Wagner, Carter Jr. on Monday. (Underdog NBA)"

The Magic are desperately searching for answers after dropping a 108-97 game to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The coaching staff is just throwing combinations at the wall to see what sticks, and apparently, Jamal Cain is the latest handful of spaghetti.

Seeing Cain and Richardson slotted next to Wagner and Bane is the kind of sickos-only basketball reality that makes you question why you watch 82 games a year. It looks less like a cohesive NBA unit and more like a fantasy roster drafted entirely by auto-pick in the seventh round.

For anyone staring at the betting board tonight, this rotation shuffle turns Orlando player props into a total guessing game. With Banchero and Suggs out of the mix, the offensive usage is going to be completely hijacked by Wagner and Bane.

Trying to project how many shots Richardson or Cain will actually take is a fast track to a headache. You are basically banking on whether or not they happen to be standing in the right corner when Wagner gets double-teamed.

Orlando hosts the Washington Wizards next, which is exactly the kind of matchup you want when you are test-driving a makeshift lineup. If this five-man group cannot find a way to generate stops and space the floor against Washington, the front office might need to start holding open tryouts in the Kia Center parking lot.