Energy is the base for Orlando Magic to build culture

The Orlando Magic are determined to build the base for their winning culture of the future with the rest of this season. That base is energy.

Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel wrote one word on the white board at halftime of Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Energy.

It was clearly lacking in the first half as the 76ers ran roughshod over the Magic to take a 17-point lead. Philadelphia, undermanned with nine players on the roster and Jahlil Okafor on the bench with an injury, took it to the Magic constantly. They pressured and drove right at the Magic and forced them to respond.

In the first half, there was no response. To come back and win this game, the Magic would have to find it somewhere.

"“These guys just changed their energy,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily. “We know coming back from the West Coast there is always a little bit of d ip in energy. We talked about it and addressed it and said this was not good enough. it is not OK to come out and settle for not having energy. You have to find it. If we’re going to become a Playoff-caliber team and build winning habits, that’s what you have to do. You have to find energy when it’s not naturally there.”"

The Magic had plenty of built-in excuses. They had a day of practice, but clearly the trip East from the road trip was still getting to the team.  Something had to wake them up.

And as the Magic are trying to build a culture, this important lesson is the most important and basic one.

Orlando Magic

Good teams find a way. When they are tired, when they are not making shots, when they are just out of sync, they find a way to make plays.

The Magic slowly but surely got all those plays and worked their way back into the game. It came in the form of Elfrid Payton digging out rebounds and creating steals to ignite transition opportunities. It came in Bismack Biyombo rising up to block Richaun Holmes at the rim to portect the team’s momentum. It came slowly but surely.

By the end of the fourth quarter, the Magic’s execution was not perfect — in making a nine-point comeback to force overtime, the Magic shot just 6 for 20 from the floor and 1 for 7 from beyond the arc, but made all 11 free throws in the final quarter — but the team had carried momentum and confidence into overtime.

"“Just off our energy, just trying to play harder,” Elfrid Payton said after the game. “Shake whatever there was in the first half off. Call it being tired coming off the West coast. Whatever it was, as a unit we needed to shake it off. [Vogel writing energy on the board] was a major emphasis and that kind of got us going.”"

Payton seemed to have the most, making some critical plays down the stretch. That included stripping Justin Anderson along the baseline as he tried to drive for the game-winning basket. It was one of many gutsy plays for Payton in  a game where he had seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, including three offensive rebounds.

These were the kind of gritty plays a team needs to win any game, let alone this game.

The Magic have long professed the desire to build want to build a winning culture. With what little time the Magic have left this season, they want to take every opportunity to do so. And the only way to do that is to win. Is to find a way to gut out victories even whne it feels like it is impossible.

It is easy to say this is just the 76ers. And there is a point to that. The Magic have back to back win s of rthe first time since Dec. 26. But those two wins came against the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers too. Those two teams are not playing for much either. They are not exactly inspiring the fan base to believe a 2018 Playoff run is imminent.

Still every step is important for the Magic in building their culture. And doing something once, even against a weakened opponent, is a step in the right direction.

"“Obviously we’re all disappointed with the season, no matter what happens at the end we are disappointed we didn’t get to the Playoffs,” Nikola Vucevic said. “I think that we can still finish this on a positive note and maybe help build a solid base for next year. You’ve got to play and try to win every game to the end of the season. It’s not going to matter very much, but it still feels better than losing.”"

The Magic overcame their own sloppiness to win. And there is a lesson even there. The team overcame its own poor play and found the determination it needed to win.

It started with that simplest of elements. The unquantifiable energy.

The way the Magic picked up their play in the second half was noticeable. The Magic used the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter chipipng away at Philadelphia’s lead. The theam shut their offense down and gave it the chance to make the comeback. Eventually the Magic were able to break through.

And in overtime, Orlando maintained control, taking some punches, but staying in control of the game. All until Terrence Ross hit that game-winning jumper.

The win may not be the most impressive. The way the Magic had to do it is not the most impressive. But, for a team that has struggled to string together wins all season, it was an important first step.

"“It’s important to us,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily after the game. “We want to build a winning culture and build this team into a Playoff-caliber team. We know it’s a long shot for us this year. But everything we do matters. We have to build these winning matters. Winning two in a row doesn’t seem like a big deal. But when you haven’t done it for two months, it’s a big deal.”"

It is a very basic building block for the team. But every journey starts with a single step. In this case, a single win streak.

Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 112, Philadelphia 76ers 109

And the Magic discovered energy, no matter where they can find it, will be the basis for building this whole thing back up after it feels so much was torn down.