Orlando Magic stick with pace and find a key answer

Jan 14, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) passes the ball around Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) passes the ball around Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic finally appear to have a distinct identity, and one that works for them. The light switch has flipped for this young team.

No one in the Magic locker room could pinpoint exactly who told them they needed to push the pace more. It was more of a collective understanding that this team needed to run. They had been saying it all season and now they needed to do it. That had always been the hard part.

Just about everyone though could pinpoint when the transformation occurred and who took over.

It was Elfrid Payton picking the Blazers up full court that sped the Magic up and they have never looked back.

Orlando started running. The team never stopped running. Even on made baskets. The offense started

Orlando played at a 106.3 pace Wednesday against Houston, 102.1 pace Monday against Chicago and 100.6 pace Saturday against Portland. This from a team that is now at a pace of 95.3. The Magic have increased their speed by at least eight percent in the last three games.

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That is quite a mindset change. Something just clicked and the Magic have been better for it.

“It’s not surreal, this is who we are supposed to be,” Channing Frye said. “I think we just embraced it and understood that it is not going to be easy. I think you see guys gassed out there, but you see guys diving on the floor, you see guys supporting each other on the bench. This is fun basketball.”

Indeed, this is a much more aesthetically pleasing style of basketball. And it is a whole lot more fun when you can see the ball go into the basket. That is happening more and more — 49.0 percent shooting and 52.7 percent effective field goal percentage the last three games — as the Magic have suddenly turned things around.

The questions of whether the Magic would stick to this fast-paced game may have been put to rest, for now.

Frye said the Magic needed to make a stand. Particularly after the loss in Los Angeles. Payton set the tone with his defensive pressure and his energy in that Portland game. Frye and the rest of the team came along for the ride.

“Sometimes we just figure things out,” Victor Oladipo said. “And we figured it out. I credit the young fella — Elfrid Payton. He sets thet one when he pushes the ball. It’s him. He’s out there pressuring the ball and pushing the ball. It makes me want to do it even more because I’m not trying to let him get more steals than me. I’ve got to pressure too.”

Energy can be infectious, particularly when shots are falling for the Magic which they have begun to do. Orlando is no longer letting teams dictate the pace to them. They are pushing the action and becoming the aggressors.

That increases energy as much as anything. Even when things are not working, the Magic are finding a way to make things work. The problems do not pile up like they had earlier in the season. The team fights back against adversity in a way they have not before.

This is the growth the Magic have been looking for throughout the season.

“We needed something to change. You can’t expect to do the same thing and get different results.” –Elfrid Payton

It took a team effort to make it work in the end. One player running or pushing the pace and another trying to slow things down or making the wrong decision can bring the whole thing down.

The team collectively understood it had to make this change in order to be successful. This identity had to become them.

“It’s a collective effort,” Elfrid Payton said. “We needed something to change. You can’t expect to do the same thing and get different results.”

It is incredible how quickly things can change for a team. The whole temperament and feeling around the team has changed. It feels like they have finally figured out who they are and what they need to do to succeed.

The Magic unleashing Payton on unsuspecting defenses with his ability to push the pace and spread the ball around has the Magic playing really well together. They are moving the ball quickly and sharing the ball. Everybody likes to score, after all. And the Magic had eight secondary assists Wednesday night after recording seven on Monday. That seems like a good sign the ball is whipping around fast and getting where it needs to go.

Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets
Jan 14, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) dunks against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Houston Rockets 120-113. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Things have changed a whole lot. All the players can do is smile about the change.

Pace is the major change, Victor Oladipo said. That is all that has changed from the Magic’s woeful start to the West Coast trip to this triumphant return home and finish these last two games.

There are some other factors involved obviously. But resolving the issues on offense has been the biggest development.

The question remains why it took so long to get to this point. If they all knew they needed to pick up the pace and play faster, why all the talking without action until now?

“It just doesn’t happen overnight,” Jacque Vaughn said. “There’s layer and steps to this as far as getting guys confident, playing and believing in themselves and understanding space. We had to go through that. We finally got to a point where we were ready to play with pace and we are seeing we have some sustainability with that.”

It has not happened overnight. The growth has had some pains and frustration.

The Magic seem finally ready to embrace this identity and this style. And they are rolling right now. This feels different than the other times the Magic played well this season.

Next: Orlando Magic race past Rockets for win