If there is one thing young teams have the most difficulty learning, it is that winning games is very hard.
The Magic have known that better than any other team, having won a league-low 43 games the last two years. Year Three came with some promise that the team would focus on building the players already on the roster rather than preparing for the potential player coming to it.
And so begins the growing pains of a young team trying to learn how to win.
Already, the Magic have been put into some difficult situations to close out a game. Just Sunday night, Orlando saw a 16-point deficit whittled to three points in the closing seconds as turnovers, missed free throws and made 3-pointers by Phoenix made the game much closer than it needed to be. the Magic did not have the sharpness in execution it had down the stretch of that game and its own self-inflicted wounds nearly cost the team a victory.
It is easy to hope that this was a lesson without losing.
Already, though, the Magic have closed out some impressive wins and have shown improvement in closing out some of these games over last year. While there are games where they faded away like against Toronto and Miami, there are also games where Orlando finished strong against Minnesota and Milwaukee. And then there were games like Phoenix where the team struggles to hold on or games like Philadelphia where the team barely escapes.
The growth late in games is there and it is apparent.
“I think the great part of our timeouts, our huddles is guys are really stressing just to play that possession,” Jacque Vaughn said after the win over the Bucks on Nov. 14. “I think that is the maturation you are talking about. Just to be able to be in the present moment in that fourth quarter and not be able to panic and do what we do.”
The statistics bear out a team still learning how to finish games and find that calm.
So far 12 of Orlando’s 19 games have been within five points in the final minutes. The Magic are shooting just 37.7 percent from the floor in these instances and posting a 95.0 offensive rating and 107.2 defensive rating. The Magic obviously still have lots of room for improvement in these situations. The team’s turnover rate is 10.1 percent. It would appear then that the issue late in games is still execution.
That is an OK thing for a young team to be learning still. Particularly a young coach like Jacque Vaughn too. Players are still figuring out how to be in the right position to help their team win at the end of the game.
It should also be noted in these moments, the ball tends t stagnate and the Magic become susceptible (as other teams do) to one-on-one play. In this isolation game, the Magic are going to struggle more than most teams.
That should be a sign for something.
Last year in similar situations, the Magic posted a 90.3 offensive rating and a 111.5 defensive rating in 42 games within five points with five minutes to play. So, however modest, the Magic are improving in this area.
“We’re coming together good as a team,” Tobias Harris said. “We’re sharing the ball. We’re building a good chemistry on the floor. I think that’s the most important thing for us. Everybody is fighting. Guys come off the bench ready. We’re taking the right steps in the right direction.”
Steps in the right direction might end up being what this season becomes all about. The Magic certainly seem to be improving in this area. And they should get better with more experience.
Until then, there will certainly be games like the Minnesota win where Orlando blew the game open in the late stages to win comfortable and there will certainly be games like last night in Phoenix where Orlando has to hold on for dear life.
Each type of victory counts the same in the record book, but gives this young squad and important experience to add to their memories for the next time. Already, it is clear the Magic are going to get plenty more opportunities to practice their close game play and learn how to close games out. Winning is the next step in the maturation process.