Everything seemed to collapse for the Orlando Magic at the end of the first half with Jalen Suggs lying on the floor clutching his left ankle. For the Magic, already hit with major injuries to their two best players, this seemed like an unconscionable blow. In the 96 seconds between Suggs going to the floor and halftime, the Oklahoma City Thunder went on a 10-1 run to blow the game open and lead by 19 at the half.
The Magic trailed by 23 early in the third quarter as Suggs tried to play through the seemingly devastating injury before getting pulled after four minutes for his own good.
Orlando had to find answers now without its three best offensive players against the best defensive team in the league.
They needed the whole team to step up.
Slowly but surely, the Magic whittled that lead down in the third quarter. They got it back within single digits by the end of the quarter. In the fourth quarter, they took it down to two points. Orlando was not going away.
It leads to one inescapable truth: The Magic are good enough to win.
Even down all the players they are missing. Even with their shortcomings as a team. The Magic continue to prove themselves capable of winning. It is a matter of whether the Magic can reduce their mistakes that will determine their outcome.
“We’re more than capable,” Wendell Carter said. “No matter what five we roll out there with, we’re all capable of winning. Of putting together stops, of putting together great runs. On the flip side of it, in the first half, we can’t have lapses like that. On both sides, we did a good job in the third quarter bouncing back on both sides. But it should have never even gotten to that. We should have been locked in from start to finish.”
This is a team that is confident and plays without excuses. The Magic looked inward – to their 20 turnovers for 26 Thunder points, including 14 for 22 points in the first half – rather than at their opponent for why they lost 105-99 on Thursday. They know that if they can play their game and execute, they can beat any team.
The question is whether the Magic can put all the pieces together. They need to do so to give their defense a chance to lock in. That will give them a chance. As Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the Magic’s offense might be changing a bit but their defense remains the same.
The defense is always the key to the Magic’s success and their ability to compete. The problem since Franz Wagner’s injury is that it slips just enough to put them in the hole. That happened in the second quarter Sunday too when the New York Knicks ran past them.
Orlando’s depth has indeed been stretched thin. The margin for error is thin. And that is evident.
But the Magic still found themselves playing even with two elite teams. They still found themselves with a chance to win.
Orlando is playing at a deficit without their two best offensive players. But that has not lowered the expectations around the building. The Magic are still capable of winning and expect to continue winning.
