"Southeast Division: NBA Season Preview Summaries"

Orlando Magic

Predicted 2024 record: 50-32

Last season: 47-35, 5th in NBA Eastern Conference. Lost 4-3 to Cleveland Cavaliers in first round of playoffs.

Last time: That Orlando advanced past the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs it was 2009-10. The Magic have made the postseason just five times since, with an early exit in each case.

FanDuel championship odds: +4000

Roster roll call

Draft picks:

No. 18, SF Tristan da Silva, Colorado

DEPARTURES: Markelle Fultz, Joe Ingles, Chuma Okeke

VETERAN ADDITIONS: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cory Joseph

Big picture: There's lots to like about the Magic, who were part of a jumble of contenders for the East's No. 2 seed last season. Talented youth tops that list, as leading scorers Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs all were 22 or younger in 2023-24. Add veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to that trio and a deep, youthful bench and the stuff of a deep playoff run could be in place. If Caldwell-Pope's intangibles are to be believed, the postseason might even flirt with June. His efforts as the established-role-player-on-a-young-club helped the Lakers and Nuggets to titles over the past five seasons. Orlando can score and defend and coach Jamahl Mosley is on the rise, but the Magic must improve their ball control to keep trending upward.

Get to know ...

SF Tristan da Silva

After helping Colorado to is first NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons, da Silva comes aboard a Magic team with lots of breakout stars. He figures to get the chance to be one of them but must develop a penchant for dealing with the physicality of the pro game while establishing an identity. At 6-foot-8, he can be a force at the rim and mixes ability from midrange and beyond the arc.

--Miami Heat

Predicted 2024 record: 48-34

Last season: 46-36, 8th in NBA Eastern Conference. Lost 4-1 to Boston Celtics in first round of playoffs.

Last time: That Bam Adebayo finished outside the Top 5 in Defensive Player of the Year voting it was 2018-19, his second season in the NBA.

FanDuel championship odds: +5000

Roster roll call

Draft picks:

No. 15, C Kel'el Ware, Indiana

No. 44, SG Pelle Larsson, Arizona (acquired from Rockets)

DEPARTURES: Caleb Martin, Patty Mills, Orlando Robinson, Delon Wright

VETERAN ADDITIONS: Alec Burks, Nassir Little

Big picture: Miami relied on an aggressive defense last season, limiting foes to 111.5 points per 100 possessions to boast the fifth-ranked defensive efficiency in the NBA. While center Bam Adebayo anchored the 'D,' the Heat will need him and other mainstays from a little-changed roster, namely Jimmy Butler, to step up in an offense that was in the bottom third of the league in offensive efficiency. Butler has healed from the sprained right MCL he suffered in the play-in tournament but must overcame questions about his durability and that pesky thing known as age. He hasn't played 65 games in a season since joining Miami in 2019-20 and turned 35 last month. The Heat can go far if Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and Butler stay healthy alongside Adebayo, but that's a notable "if" of late.

Get to know ...

C Kel'el Ware