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Orlando Magic Power Rankings Roundup: The stretch run

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Feb 13, 2015; New York, NY, USA; U.S. Team guard Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic (4, left) and guard Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic (5, right) watch from the bench during the first half against the World Team at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 13, 2015; New York, NY, USA; U.S. Team guard Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic (4, left) and guard Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic (5, right) watch from the bench during the first half against the World Team at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic
Feb 13, 2015; New York, NY, USA; U.S. Team guard Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic (4, left) and guard Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic (5, right) watch from the bench during the first half against the World Team at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

The Orlando Magic are through with the All-Star Break and are gearing up for a stretch run to some form of relevancy.

Well, here we are.

The All-Star Break has come and gone. The Magic will be gathering back up after the long break Wednesday to start preparing for the final 26 games of the season. It is going to be a whirlwind to get some momentum heading into the offseason and provide some hope both for the players on the roster and to entice a new coach.

The immediate focus has been on Thursday’s trade deadline. There are a lot of ideas floating around, but few in the way of concrete rumors or reports of what the Magic might do.

We will push that aside for the moment, however, and focus on how the Magic might do for the stretch run.

For many, it seemed like the Magic’s goal this season should have been to make the jump to 30 wins. That would have been a true “turn-the-corner” type of season. It would now require the Magic to go 13-13 the rest of the way. That might be asking a lot of this young team under an interim coach. It is probably way too much.

The 30-win mark was reserved for the most optimistic of Magic fans (as were those Playoff hopes that would have probably required 35 wins to reach . . . the eighth-seeded Heat are currently on pace for about 35 wins).

Realistically, the Magic were probably closer to the 26-32 range. It is looking like the Magic are going to hit the low end of that range.

A quick look at the John Hollinger Playoff Odds show the Magic finishing at best with 36 wins and at worst with 18. It is hard imagining the Magic winning just one more game with all the home games remaining on the schedule. But it is equally hard seeing the team go 19-7 to get to 36 wins either. Crazier things have happened.

The average results according to this metric is 26 wins. That would be a modest improvement over last season but probably not the record step forward the team wanted. But to get nine wins in the final 26 games with how this season has gone would be a pretty decent finishing kick.

Let’s see where the Magic stand as they start this trip toward the end of the season.

Next: Marc Stein, ESPN.com