Are the Magic where they want to be heading out West?

This is it. This is the time when we find out what the Magic are really made of.

Every year it seems to be the case. The Magic make their first long road trip in the week after Thanksgiving, usually heading out West. This is not quite the Rodeo Trip or the Grammy Trip or the Circus Trip that has become famous around the league. The Magic do not quite have that.

This early December road trip has always been an early season measuring stick for where this team is.

“It’s critical,” Nikola Vucevic said before the team left last week. “I think it will be a great challenge for us to grow and to take a big step to have a good road trip. I think it will help us bond together. I think it is going to help us. We just have to stay focused. I think if we do a good job on this road trip, I think it could be good momentum for us moving forward.”

The road trip obviously did not get off to the best start. Things turned around Sunday night in Phoenix to bring the team to 1-1 on the trip. Now comes four games in five nights including a Warriors-Clippers back to back that will really test the team’s mettle.

Overall though, is the team where it wants to be entering this critical stretch?

Injuries have certainly put the Magic behind the 8-ball to start the season. Emerging at 7-12 entering Tuesday’s game against the Warriors is something of a feat for sure for a team that has won 43 game the last two years. Some want to see the Magic make a few more steps forward.

This road trip would be a chance to show some major progress.

The last two years the Magic went 3-2 in their West Coast trip in 2012, including those back-to-back wins against the Lakers and Warriors, and 1-5 in their December road trip (an East and Southwest road trip instead of a trip out West in December 2013). Remember in 2012, the Magic got off to that brilliant start before Glen Davis‘ injury derailed the season. There was a chance to build something with that team that was an odd mix of veterans and a team that needed to clear its decks. Last year’s December trip was more in line with what that team would become.

Victor Oladipo’s injury has slowed any potential evaluation of the Magic this season. Photo by Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Orlando has had guys in and out of the lineup and that has slowed down the team’s development as a unit. After Friday’s listless effort, though, the Magic have come together and put in two solid performances against the Suns and the Warriors.

It is starting to feel like the Magic are finding their rhythm (although how they respond to the devastating loss Tuesday in Oakland will test that rhythm greatly). There was some fear that the lack of familiarity would lead to things getting ugly pretty quickly. Maybe the loss to the Pacers was the wake-up call the team needed to come together.

This road heavy schedule — 13 of the first 20 games have been on the road — has really tested the Magic. It is something they cannot control, obviously, but it does not make things any easier. Particularly since the team won a franchise-low four road games last year. The Magic have already eclipsed that just past the quarter mark of their road season.

“So far the schedule has been tough,” said Kyle O’Quinn, who missed most of these early schedule road trips with an ankle injury. “I think we have done an OK job with the test. But this road trip is going to be a big one. It could go either way. We could make it a good one, or it coudl be a bad one. We have experienced bad road trips before. The guys that have been here, it’s tough. Especially when you are on the road that long, it’s tough. We’re going to try to turn that around.”

Winning on the road is definitely a big part of the Magic attempting any type of turnaround. They are already much more competitive. The resolve from this team after the blowout loss to Indiana was very noticeable.

There is a big picture to consider too outside the trials of this specific road trip. The Magic want to turn a corner. Winning road games against Western Conference teams is part of turning that corner. This West Coast trip is part of seeing how far the Magic have come and whether they can accomplish more this season than the last two.

The injuries have given Jacque Vaughn an incomplete picture entering this week of games. The first half of this road trip has given Vaughn a pretty clear picture of what his team can be. The road trip is about finding consistency.

I think overall, I don’t know what coach would say he’s happy,” Vaughn said. “I have been pleased with the approach of our guys. I wish I could give a honest assessment with us being healthy, that part of it has been challenging. But we are a better team than we were a month ago. I am pleased with that. So that gives me encouragement going forward as we get healthy.”

The future though remains a mystery. This trip only reveals part of the puzzle.