Orlando Magic’s first win will provide trust in the process

The Orlando Magic are still building trust in that process. The first win could go a long way to settling this team and building that trust.

The Orlando Magic are not where they want to be. No team at 0-3 is where they want to be, frankly.

The season is not over, and the odds are not incredibly long — three teams that made the Playoffs last year started the season 0-3 including Frank Vogel’s Indiana Pacers. The task is not impossible. But the Magic have considerably more work to do than other teams, it seems.

“I’ve been 0-3,” Vogel said. “One year, we were 1-6 the year we went to Game Seven of the Conference Finals. When you start poorly, it just kind of opens your eyes.

“You have to try your blueprint and see what it looks like. If it doesn’t look good, then you make adjustments. You make changes while highlighting what is working. It’s a process. I believe we’re going to get better each week, each month of this season. We’re going to have a good season.”

While there is still a considerable amount of frustration and concern from Magic fans this early in the season, the team itself is not panicking quite yet. There do not seem to be drastic changes on the way. Just a continuing process of gelling and coming together.

Vogel is still testing out his blueprint and giving things the chance to work.

Even with the rough start, the team said it was still confident that things will come together. Getting that first win will only add to that confidence and perhaps get them over the hump.

One win can change the season. Or at least add some course correction.

“It’s just a battle,” Aaron Gordon said. “It’s a 48-minute battle. We’re going to play tough the entire time. We’re trying to build a culture here. We have to learn how to win. Once we learn how to win, we’re going to forget about how to lose. All we know how to do is win. That’s what we are looking toward.”

The hope is the team will win during that gelling process. But it is still an ongoing process coming together and learning. It is something the team is fighting through.

Aaron Gordon said it does not matter how many veterans the team added, it is not easy to play with a new group of players. There are tendencies the team still has to learn. This fact along with the belief Gordon has in his teammates has helped keep spirits high despite the slow start.

That first win can let the team know how they can win and show them path to victory. That is still a big door for the Magic to unlock.

“It’s going to bring everyone together,” Elfrid Payton said. “I think everyone is so anxious wanting to get off to a good start, wanting to do well for each other and wanting to show what we can do. Getting that first win is going to be big for us.”

Vogel said everyone is trusting the process (yes the Magic play at the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday in their next game) during this time period where everyone is still gelling together. But Vogel said too the Magic need to find a way to win while they are going through this gelling process.

Lack of chemistry or familiarity is not going to be an excuse — especially come the end of the season if the Magic fall short by a game or two. These games still count.

That is why the focus is not on fixing the season quite yet. The big-picture issues can begin to get solved by focusing on the game in front of them first and getting that first win. For now, the focus is on getting that first win.

Nikola Vucevic said any win can help. It can boost confidence around the team and change the outlook. For the Magic specifically, a win can help reinforce the identity the team is trying to build.

Orlando is still searching for an identity and seeing some results can validate the process the coaches are preaching and help them build those good habits.

Part of those steps is to keep fighting — something the team struggled with in the second half against the Miami Heat and against the Detroit Pistons but bounced back to do against Cleveland in the second half. That more than anything brought optimism for the team.

The hope then is one win can lead to two wins and begin a streak and some comfort. The path to continuing the success.

“It’s just like a shot,” Elfrid Payton said. “Just like a start of the game. We started 0 for 3, you make that next shot and you make the next three in a row or next four in a row. It’s about seeing that first one go in sometimes. It will be good for us.”

Next: Evaluating the Orlando Magic's assets

The Magic are still looking to score that first basket, grinding away to get together and have that first breakthrough this season.