The Orlando Magic are looking for something positive to cling to right now.
Losing nine of their last 10 and 15 of their last 20, the Magic are slipping and falling. They are now closer to the 11th-place Philadelphia 76ers (four games) than the fourth-place Indiana Pacers (5.5 games). They lead the Atlanta Hawks by only one-half game for eighth and a spot in the 7-8 Play-In game.
This is the reality. The Magic burned through their cushion and are now struggling to win. They have played like a tanking team for the last month and have not won consecutive games since Christmas.
Orlando needs whatever it can find.
So the Magic’s 104-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors had some positive things for them to cling to. They wanted to play with more spirit and they did. They fought back from a 15-point deficit to open the fourth quarter to take the lead with about four minutes to play.
That is some solace. But it really is not.
“I don’t think it’s a question of our fight, but we had the mental lapses where we gave up a 40-point third quarter,” Cole Anthony said. “We gave up as many points in the third quarter as we did in the first half. It’s going to be hard for us to win games like that.”
As good as the Magic played, the 39-point third quarter that put them down 15 and that brief lapse on defense and offense – including giving up 10 free throws in the quarter – did them in. They could not put a full game together.
That is not a moral victory, that is a loss.
The Magic are supposed to be beyond that thinking. They opened the season with ambitions to take homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Until Christmas, they were in a position to accomplish that goal even despite their injuries.
This is not who the Magic are supposed to be or how this season was supposed to go. They wanted a higher standard and they are plainly not hitting it.
Everyone is feeling the frustration of not meeting that standard. The reality is that few players have been able to increase their game in the same way they did when they were winning in November and December.
Some of that is Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner still getting themselves in rhythm. The Magic have thrown them into the deep end offensively because they have no other choice. They must be the engines to create for this team. And they are struggling to create space consistently.
The Magic’s offense remains unacceptably bad even if the team is able to get – or being allowed to get – open shots. The Magic posted a 103.1 offensive rating, their fourth straight game with an offensive rating lower than 110.0 and their ninth such game in the last 10 outings. You guessed it, the only win the Magic have in the last 10 games is the one they scored more than 110 points per 100 possessions.
Orlando is starting to openly vent the frustrations the team is feeling internally. Nobody is satisfied with how the team is playing and they acknowledge they are the ones that have to save themselves.
But it is hard when the Magic are still shooting so poorly – 43.4 percent and 8 for 32 from three (25.0 percent). They were not taking good shots as they gave into frustration and tried to keep up with a Warriors team that suddenly made shots.
The Magic are lacking any kind of offensive force and consistency. That remains the culprit for taking Orlando out of games and keeping the team from having a chance to win.
The Magic still look shell-shocked and lacking confidence when they get the ball. There is little to do about that and it is the biggest thing the Magic must change.
Orlando’s fortunes will only change when the team finds its offensive confidence. They are back to searching for something so basic.
But the clear statement is they are not living up to their expectations or standards. The Magic are hunting for whatever positive morsel they can find right now.
