Orlando Magic Daily
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Orlando Magic’s second-half goals

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 2, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; The Orlando Magic get ready to play the Brooklyn Nets before the first quarter of a NBA basketball game at Amway Center. The Nets won 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; The Orlando Magic get ready to play the Brooklyn Nets before the first quarter of a NBA basketball game at Amway Center. The Nets won 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors
Dec 15, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) looks for a way to the basket past Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) and guard Greivis Vasquez (21) at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Playoffs or Lottery? Just play every game

The Magic are in a weird position.

On one hand, they are just 2.5 games out of the final Playoffs pot in the Eastern Conference. They have a young team with plenty of talent and the experience, you would think, to at least make a push for the Playoffs.

On the other hand, the Magic are in line for the seventh pick in the Draft and are only 1.5 games out of picking fourth.

There is the odd push and pull of competing and maybe positioning for lottery.

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New Orleans Pelicans all-time leaders in triple doubles /

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    • The Magic as a team cannot think about that. Their focus has to remain on the task at hand — winning basketball games individually.

    This team is not talented enough yet to consistently burn off tons of games in a row. But they will have their moments. Plenty of moments. The key for the rest of this season is for the Magic to continue to have these moments.

    More moments like the stunning buzzer-beating win over the Hawks or the energetic victories over the Bulls and the Rockets. There has to be more of these moments than the negative ones.

    The Magic came into this season believing they had to turn a corner, so to speak. They had to show fans and show themselves that this rebuild is moving int he right direction. It is hard to say the team has done that with how difficult it has been to find an identity and produce wins.

    There is still 40 or so games to do that though.

    We will see what they have in store.

    Next: Victor Oladipo's breakout performance could be a watershed moment