Orlando Magic Power Rankings Roundup: Searching and trying

The Orlando Magic had a horrendous week last week for the holidays. Four more losses, three at home, are a bad prelude to a tough road trip this week.

The Orlando Magic’s roller coaster ride continued last week.

With a chance to build up some wins at home over the holiday break with a relatively manageable schedule, the Magic laid an egg. The team went winless against the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks (twice). All three of these game seemed pretty winnable, especially for a team as strong defensively as the Magic and with the Playoff aspirations.

If there was a week that sent out some alarm bells for the Magic and their Playoff hopes, this was it.

Orlando had three struggling teams in its building and failed to win any of them. All this with a big road trip coming up with the schedule stiffening up seriously. The Magic’s 6-11 record has seemed like an illusion, thanks to a big negative net rating, they will figure out if they can really compete at a high level.

The December road trip is always a proving ground for the Magic. This is when the team comes together or falls apart every year. The Magic have to come away with at least a .500 record and a clearer positive trajectory heading home if they want to keep their Playoff dreams alive.

No one can make the Playoffs in December, as the Magic learned last year, but they can certainly lose it.

Orlando’s season feels like it is on a bit of an edge. The team could quickly fall into a long losing streak and fall further behind the pace to make the Playoffs. Whether it seems ridiculous or not, that remains the goal.

For now, the Magic are falling behind. The struggles this week do not bode well. And the Magic fell once again in the weekly power rankings. It appears their time is coming to put up or shut up.