The Orlando Magic did not grade well in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. But Andrew Nicholson and Victor Oladipo provide reason for hope.
The Orlando Magic dug themselves another hole. Well, not as deep of a hole.
But they did trail most of the game. And when Orlando finally took a lead at 53-52, the team allowed Denver to burn off eight unanswered points and retake the lead and retake control.
The Magic’s offense was bad tonight. Really bad. Like post worse than 0.9 points per possession and shot worse than 40 percent from the floor.
Orlando could continue to say that shots were not falling, and to some extent they might be right. Their defense was solid throughout the night keeping the Magic in the game. But the shots would not fall.
Take all that for what you will.
Did the Magic play well? No, this was a winnable game. Were there signs that the team had made some improvements and changed their mindset after two disappointing home games? Yes.
Does any of that matter when the result is the same? No, it doesn’t. Losses suck. And this team is hungry for wins. They are still struggling to get to that point.
Let’s hand out some grades: