NBA Power Rankings: Are the New York Knicks equipped to take down Boston Celtics?

15. Orlando Magic

Being one of the bigger surprises in the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic are an interesting team to keep a close eye on heading into the second half of the season. And over the past few weeks, the Magic have hit a bit of a wall at this point in the season. Since December 15, the Magic are just 4-9 heading into their Friday night matchup against the Miami Heat. It's really the first time all season that the Magic have struggled to this extent.

How they recover from this recent rough patch will be interesting to watch. This is a young team that could quickly see their season derail because of one rough stretch that extends from a couple of weeks of struggles to a month or two. If they can quickly right the ship, that should tell us a lot about the Magic and their chances of locking up a top 6 seed in the East standings.

It's going to be a tall task for the Magic to accomplish but they could be one NBA Trade Deadline move away from solidifying their chances of making a return to the postseason for the first time since 2019-20.