Cole Anthony

Things were looking up for Anthony midway through his 2020-21 rookie season. Starting point guard Markelle Fultz suffered a torn ACL in early January and the Magic immediately inserted Anthony into the starting lineup. Through 17 consecutive starts, Anthony posted 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 three-pointers over 29.1 minutes per game. But then a rib injury forced the rookie to miss 25 straight games. He returned and eventually earned back the starting spot. Over the last 17 games of the season, Anthony started every game and delivered 16.2 points and 5.1 boards per contest on a depleted Magic squad. The problem for Anthony this season is two-fold. First, Fultz returns from his injury probably in December and is expected to once again start. Second, the Magic pulled an illusion and drafted rising star Jalen Suggs with the fifth overall pick this summer. Plan A for Orlando is to give both Fultz and Suggs monster backcourt minutes as the team rebuilds. That would bump combo-guard Anthony back to a reserve role. That said, the Magic still lack depth and Fultz's injury issues are well documented. Worst case scenario is Orlando turns to Anthony as its points-off-the-bench gunner who should still see north of 22 minutes per contest. Expect the usual sophomore shooting improvement from Anthony, who only shot 39.7 percent as a rookie. But an increase in counting stats could be hard to come by if Fultz returns and stays healthy.