The Orlando Magic cannot create offense without Elfrid Payton

The Orlando Magic fell to the Philadelphia 76ers by nine points, but the game illustrated how hopelessly reliant the Magic are on Elfrid Payton.

When the calendar year concluded, the Orlando Magic entered as owners of a 19-13 record. Since that point, the Magic have gone 1-8. It seems, definitively, we can now say things have hit rock bottom.

With Orlando’s 96-87 loss to a 6-38 Philadelphia 76ers team, the Magic no longer resemble playoff contenders. In January, at least, they hold the second worst net rating in the league.

In fact, they resemble something a lot more like the team we saw in the dreadful Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego era. The Magic are not playing with the same level of cohesion and teammates are not trusting one another. Against the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks, the Magic were entirely dysfunctional at times.

But against Philadelphia, the worst team in the East?

They were just abysmally poor, and this really did not resemble the team it was through the season’s first 32 games at any point.

“Our lack of competitiveness is frightening really,” coach Scott Skiles said. “They were pushing us all around on both ends of the floor, making it hard for us to do anything and we just basically capitulated.”

It is difficult to pinpoint any one cause, but the on/off story can begin to be told through the influence of Elfrid Payton.

The Magic did not start the game so bad.

Payton was finding ways to create offense and he had nine points in the game’s first eight minutes as the Magic took an 18-10 lead. Shabazz Napier checked in then at the 4:16 mark and the Magic proceeded to fritter away the entire lead and the Sixers led 23-21 after a period.

Napier would not see the court the remainder of the game following that stint. The Sixers had run off a 13-3 run and got all the confidence it needed moving forward.

“They went on a run and our flow was gone and we never got it back.” –Nikola Vucevic

“We started off great, great pace, great defense, great offense,” Nikola Vucevic said. “We moved the ball. We got up and got a 10-point lead. They went on a run and our flow was gone and we never got it back. For the rest of the game, we were running out there and not really doing anything. They took control of the game in the beginning of the third quarter and that was it.”

That defining run though by the 76ers would haunt the Magic the remainder of the night, as the Magic never really regained the form they had through the game’s first eight minutes.

And that is beginning to prove to be a huge problem: Orlando has been able to look good for stints of games, but there have been few full efforts during this month-long slump.

The Magic would get a nice boost from Keith Appling and Scott Skiles even experimented with Elfrid Payton at the 2-guard spot during the second quarter. The Magic would build a seven-point lead in the second quarter, but those wheels . . . just did not stay on.

The Magic’s confusing play continued. The team just could not stay consistent.

“Frustrating, frustrating,” Elfrid Payton said of his team’s inability to string anything together.

“You just try to lead by example as much as I can [as point guard],” Payton added.

This was a Sixers team that had yet to get a win against fellow Eastern Conference teams, and now the Magic were their first.

It is unclear what can right the ship. The Magic have been without Victor Oladipo for two games now, and that is affecting the depth in the backcourt to a large degree because the Magic are thin there.

It has resulted in calling up Appling for the 10-day contract while also being forced to give Napier time. The Magic are scraping the bottom of the barrel for NBA guards, and when Payton is not in the game the offense is stagnant and woeful.

Payton finished the game 8 of 13 from the field with 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. He continually created for the Magic, and when the game was finished he was simply -1 for his time on the court. That means the Magic were out played by eight points over the seven minutes Payton spent on the bench.

Even though Payton was strong throughout the game, he was not immune from criticism. His inconsistent defense against the speedy Ish Smith did not help.

Related Story: Frustration reigns in Orlando Magic loss to Philadelphia 76ers

The Magic are still about a measure of balance.

“When we were winning and appearing to be turning a corner, we were getting five or six guys in double figures,” Skiles said. “We would win with our high scorer having 17. We need everyone to be playing the right way. That’s the type of team we are. Even in some games where you look at the stat sheet and some guys had decent numbers doesn’t necessarily mean they had a good game. it was another game where we didn’t have enough guys playing well.”

Not everyone was pulling together Wednesday against the 76ers. The Magic were out of sync like they have been for this entire month.

Payton undeniably helps this team though. In a significant way.

But Payton cannot play 48 minutes a game. And, at this point, the Magic are in a state of desperation for how to handle the backcourt play. Evan Fournier shooting 3 of 14 hardly helped matters, but the Magic need sources of playmaking outside of Payton. It cannot be one guy creating all the offense.

When Orlando can essentially lose a game entirely in the seven minutes that its starting point guard sits out, it really highlights just how dependent this team is on his playmaking.

That is to say mostly Orlando is dependent to a fault on the services of one Elfrid Payton.

Scott Skiles’ task with bringing life back into the team is now at a critical point, and the Magic are back below .500 for the first time since November 25th.

It is a struggle the Magic are feeling and struggling with constantly.

“We have to find a way,” Tobias Harris said. “We’ve got to find a way as a team to really sneak out a win and build some confidence and have some momentum. Obviously, we’re frustrated as a group. We’ve got to stay positive and be ready for the next one. We have to let this one pass and learn from it. That’s the bottom line it’s a must-win game.”

Next: Orlando Magic hoping to rediscover resiliency

Philip Rossman-Reich contributed to this report.