The Magic's New Starting Lineup Is a Cry for Help

The Orlando Magic have officially reached the phase of their season where the starting lineup looks like a random name generator. According to Underdog NBA, Orlando is rolling out a Saturday starting five of Josh Richardson, Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr.

You do not land on a lineup like this because things are going according to plan. This looks less like a cohesive NBA unit and more like a fantasy roster drafted entirely by auto-pick in the seventh round.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup change, noting the start for Richardson, Black, da Silva, Wagner, and Carter Jr."

This is the exact kind of rotation you get when your franchise cornerstone Paolo Banchero is sidelined with an ankle sprain and your defensive engine Jalen Suggs is nursing a bone bruise. The Magic are desperately searching for answers after dropping three straight games, including a brutal 117-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The coaching staff is just plugging guys in to survive the week. Anthony Black is back in the mix after managing his own recent ankle tweak, and throwing him out there with a rookie like da Silva and a veteran like Richardson is pure survival mode.

For anyone staring at the betting board this weekend, 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. Trying to project how many shots Richardson or da Silva will actually take is a fast track to a headache, as you are basically banking on whether or not they happen to be standing in the right corner when Wagner gets double-teamed.

Orlando heads to the Bay Area next to face the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. If this makeshift five-man group cannot find a way to generate stops and space the floor, the front office might need to start holding open tryouts before the weekend is over.