Goga Bitadze’s comments on media day should shock the rest of the Eastern Conference

There was a good atmosphere in the Magic squad at Media Day. The team was happy to be back in Orlando and get to work for the new season. After last season’s success, they felt they still had a lot to do, a lot to prove and a lot of motivation to do so.

For a young team, there are few things more exciting than making the playoffs for the first time and having the experience of playing at the next level. The Magic quickly learned this. Paolo Banchero was just in his second season and none of the regular players are still 25 years old.

To say the Magic are motivated to keep winning would be an understatement. Last season was a surprise, but this time everything the Magic do will be intentional. The team will only get better and rise in the standings.

Paolo Banchero previously stated on First Take that he believes the Magic could finish at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. If that confidence hasn’t given their opponents pause, then Goga Bitadze’s comments at Media Day should.

Goga Bitadze was the first to clearly express how much the Magic hoped to improve this season and what last season’s experience meant to the team. This is not good news for the rest of the Eastern Conference.

“Everyone says, okay, we made the playoffs, we made it to Game 7, [but] Nobody is satisfied… we know we can do a lot more,” he said at Media Day.

Bitadze added that everyone is in better shape than last season and that the team is tighter and goes into training camp with a different energy. Last season the Magic were hoping for a win. This season they know they can.

If that confidence and energy translates to the court, the rest of the Eastern Conference should be on guard. While there are still some teams in the Eastern Conference that are expected to take a loss, there are also some incredibly strong teams.

Someone has to fight through the play-in tournament to get to the playoffs or accept not having home field advantage. The Magic could overtake one of the teams expected to finish at the top of the standings and cause some disappointment among the teams that have much more pressure to win. After all, this group won 47 games last season when they didn’t really know what they were capable of and had no pressure to win anything. Now they only know the bare minimum of what they are capable of and are getting better and better.

Other players echoed Bitadze’s statement. Wendell Carter Jr. said the team “only goes up from here,” and Gary Harris said Paolo Banchero is locked in and ready for another great season.

If Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, among others, can take their games to the next level, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fits right in and they play with the same fire that Bitadze’s comments suggested should make the 2024-25 season even more exciting than last season.