Orlando Magic’s small improvements on display against Bulls
By Carson Ingle
Simple adjustments have started to lead the way to better Orlando Magic basketball.
24. Final. 97. 38. 98
For a minute at the end of Sunday night’s contest against the Chicago Bulls, it looked as if the Orlando Magic would be starting a trend they have been unaccustomed to this season, a win streak. The Magic went on an 11-2 run in just more than two and a half minutes to take a six-point lead with just more than two minutes to play. They held onto that lead until there were about 30 seconds remaining.
Then chaos struck. Orlando coughed up three turnovers, a clear path foul was called on Tobias Harris and Pau Gasol hammered home a dunk to snatch victory from the claws of defeat.
In a game that the Magic clearly outplayed the Bulls, the little things robbed them of the chance to send interim head coach James Borrego to 2-0.
“Winning doesn’t just happen,” said Borrego. “You’ve got to execute. It’s a 48 minute game. Teams aren’t just going to give us wins in this league. We’ve got to go take it. We didn’t execute well enough down the stretch to get the win tonight.”
Following the Gasol slam, Orlando still had a chance to win. Again, in a league where the difference between teams is made up by converting in simple situations, the Magic were snakebitten.
“Winning doesn’t just happen.” –James Borrego
Nikola Vucevic missed a makeable eight-foot jumper in the paint and a player who has been known for his late game heroics in Harris just missed a putback that could have given a young team a confidence-building victory, despite the late-game shakiness.
“He just said that it was our game to win and we gave it away,” said Harris. “To win in this league, you’ve got to step it up a notch. In the last 12 minutes, we’ve got to make the right plays. We’ve got to make that tip-in shot, obviously. The game would be over and we would be in here happy and celebrating.”
Despite the late shortcomings, the Magic had one of their best showings of the season. They bested Chicago in nearly every category, except for committing 10 more fouls.
The main area of emphasis since Borrego took charge has been to tighten up the defense. This is another element often overlooked by the casual observer, where incremental changes produce vast improvements.
After allowing the Bulls a 32-point first quarter, the Magic would not allow as many as 25 points in any other quarter. This was the second straight game that the gave up less than 100 points after opponents had passed the century mark in the previous 14.
Those efforts of their labor were not lost on the players, even in defeat.
“We’ve needed to play with more energy on that end and be smarter,” said Vucevic. “I think we’ve been doing that the last two games. We’re playing better on that end, controlling the paint. That’s pretty much the main thing he asked us. I think we’re responding pretty well. We have to keep it up. ”
While all the improvements may not be immediately clear through the first weekend in the Magic’s post-Jacque Vaughn Era, a young roster is beginning to turn over a new leaf. If they continue on this track, they are bound to begin to win more of those minute battles that lead to wins in the NBA.
With their backs against the wall, the players realize they have no other choice.
“We all we got right now,” said Oladipo. “It’s this team. These are our players. These are my teammates these are my brothers. This is who I go to war with everyday. Every game is emotional from now on. At the end of the day, we’re not given anything in this league. No one will give us anything. We’ve got to go take it and we’ve got to do it together. That’s the mentality we have.”