The (6-2)Orlando Magic -- tied with the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference -- are receiving national headlines for the first time in half a decade.
Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
The Magic's new uptempo style isn't going away anytime soon.
Through eight games, the Magic are averaging a blistering 114.8 points per game, second only to the Golden State Warriors (121 PPG).
The Magic are yet to score fewer than 100 points in a single game this season.
To put that into perspective, Orlando scored more than 100 points only four times in their first 19 games last season.
They ended up the fourth lowest scoring team in the league.
They were so damn boring.
But this year, they're proving to be one of the most exciting teams in all of the NBA.
Orlando Magic Rank 6-2 In The Beginning Of The 2017-18 Season
Lots of high-flying dunks, alley-oops and three-point buckets.
It's fun again for the first time since the good old days of Dwight Howard.
But it might even be more fun than when Dwight was here because he was such a whiny baby and argued every single whistle that went against him.
The new high octane style has the Magic making noise nationally.
The Ringer has the Magic listed as one of three "Surprise Teams" in the NBA along with the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
And RealGM asks, "Are the Orlando Magic for Real?"
For now, the answer is a resounding... YES.
Wondering why there's such a sudden shift in the Magic's complexion from last year to this year?
All you need to do look up and down the Magic roster and every single player is playing out of their minds.
I believe the success starts with Nikola Vucevic's development at the center position. He's hitting 3's this year for the first time ever, shooting 40.6%.
Evan Fournier is lighting it up from three-point range, hitting 55.6% of his 3's.
Aaron Gordon is proving for the first time in his career that he can, in fact, shoot the basketball. He's hit 59.1% of his 3's!
Jonathon Simmons is more than doubling his career production... And might just be the biggest "steal" of the offseason considering his new deal is three-years, $20M.
D.J. Augustin has filled in admirably at point guard for the injured Elfrid Payton. But we're going to need to watch the point guard position closely after Augustin left the game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a hamstring injury Wednesday night.
Jonathan Isaac has already made some great defensive plays in his rookie season.
And Mo "Buckets" Speights singlehandedly won the game for the Magic in New Orleans the other night by hitting four 3's in the fourth quarter.
The only guys who aren't posting great stats are Bismack Biyombo, Terrence Ross, and Mario Hezonja... But they've all done enough to help the Magic win games.
And the typically defensive-minded head coach Frank Vogel seems to be enjoying letting this team flat out... ball.
"Very proud of them. They care a great deal. They work very hard... You have to tip your hat to our guys for how hard they're working on the defensive end and how selfless they're playing offensively," Vogel told the media after the 101-99 win over Memphis Wednesday night.
We're about 1/10th of the way into the NBA season... there are 74 games to go.
But if the first eight games are any indication of what this team is capable of (that included wins over the Cavs and Spurs)...
Then a ticket to an Orlando Magic game is going to be a hot commodity in the days ahead.
FINALLY.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard Tuesdays, 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game FM/740 The Game AM... And can be seen Thursdays and Sundays, 10:30pm on the new Spectrum Sports 360 on Central Florida News 13, Spectrum channel 1013.
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