Late game woes going beyond collapse
The Orlando Magic lost another game late when it seemed to be in the bag. This is becoming more than a disturbing pattern. One that may have little fix.
90. 38. 93. 110. Final
The number that matters is the one on the scoreboard. Not the one 42 seconds before or 36 seconds before or 64 seconds remaining.
In the last two years, the Magic have had a better than 99 percent chance of winning a game with that amount of time left. In each of those three instances, they let the game slip away. Throw out the Jan. 2, 2014 debacle in Cleveland where the Magic lost a nine-point lead in 64 seconds. Focus in on the collapses this year (and there really is no other way to describe them:
Up 93-84 with 4:11 left @ Warriors — 95.0% win probability according to inpredictable.com.
Magic lose 98-97, giving up three consecutive 3-pointers to give up a tie within two minutes and throwing the game completely up in the air before Stephen Curry finally put the Magic out of their misery.
Up 89-84 1:38 left vs. Wizards — 93.0% win probability.
Magic lose 91-89 as Bradley Beal makes a game-winning tip in at the buzzer to put a dagger through the Magic’s hearts.
Up 97-91 with 33.0 seconds left and the ball vs. Bulls — 99.8% win probability.
Magic turn the ball over and commit a clear path foul giving the Bulls a five-point possession following a Derrick Rose 3-pointer. Another turnovers gives Bulls chance for the lead and the win. 98-97 Bulls is the final.
Up 83-75 with 42.0 seconds left vs. Heat — 99.8% win probability.
Magic struggle from the foul line, foul a 3-point shooter, give up another late 3-pointer and lose in overtime to the Heat 93-90.
This is no longer just a period of bad luck, it is a disturbing pattern that has befallen the young Magic. One that they will have to break out of if they want to win games and see the progress they talk about so often.
“I think it’s growing pains,” Willie Green said following the 93-90 loss to the Heat. “We’ve just got to do a better job closing out games. We’ve got this one and then the Chicago game, definitely games we were capable of winning. But the ball didn’t bounce our way down the stretch. We’ve got to learn from it and get better.”
It can be painful watching the team and players play so well — clearly well enough to win — and then make mistakes down the stretch. Even the unflappable Green, who overall did a great job defending Dwyane Wade down the stretch and made some key baskets for the Magic too, made critical mistakes.
He fouled Mario Chalmers on a 3-pointer and was part of the defensive unit that got sucked in too much as Henry Walker tied the game on a 3-pointer with two seconds left and the Magic defense caught in complete scramble mode.
The growth that has to come from a game like this is learning how to shoulder through some extremely difficult circumstances and extreme disappointment. No one was ready to deny this one would not sting that evening and the next day. The team know they have to stick together and recognize what they did well and lift each other up.
The problem is they have been here before. Plenty of times before.
Look at the examples above. What gives?
“You have to think about those,” Nikola Vucevic said. “Those are ones that you pretty much have and you let them slip away. It’s tough. It’s part of sports. We have all seen a lot of crazy games an things like this happen. You have to try and not have a lot of these. I know we have had two in a short period of time. We just have to learn from it and grow from it.”
True, close games cannot be simulated. The Amway Center against the Heat was a particularly fiery atmosphere with Heat fans attempting to pack the building and the game once again coming down to the wire. There was certainly a sort of tightness that came late in the game — when shooting percentages come down anyway.
Borrego said the team has not had the opportunity to practice and cover late-game situations. Borrego has said he is building the team more or less from the ground up, rebuilding the team’s defensive identity more than anything else. There is no doubt he has succeed in that.
Vucevic added that the team has to pay a little more attention to details (that would clear up the fouling, at least) and be a little more physical.
The belief is the team will get better with more experience in these late-game situations.
“This group is fighting,” coach James Borrego said. “They’re together. They’re competing defensively. This group has found an identity, a rhythm. I am just proud of their spirit, the way they fight, the way they stay together and the message is to stay together and hold each other up.
“This is going to sting, it’s going to sting tonight and it’s going to sting even more in the morning. We’ve had two very tough losses. We will learn from that, but we are not going anywhere, we’re not changing our philosophy and we’re not changing our identity. We are just going to get better and better at it.”
But the writing is also on the wall. Orlando has not had any changes to the roster. The same problems persist.
Borrego admitted this is a young group. For the first time in some time, he admitted Elfrid Payton is a rookie following the loss to the Heat. There is an experience not only in the NBA but together.
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Growing pains are necessary for future growth. Learning has to come. And the team is certainly still at that stage.
“This is something we’re going to figure out together,” Borrego said. “And young teams go through these. And it’s painful right now. Two weeks from now, two months from now, two years from now, we’ll be better. This is part of the learning process for us. You always like to learn and grow through wins and we did that the other night. Tonight we didn’t. We’ll stick together, we’ll grow from it, we’ll learn from it.”
Should nearly 60 games together be enough to learn those lessons. Should that be enough time for a group of admittedly young players to show improvement and close out games that seem impossible to lose?
That is probably the more pressing question that needs to be answered.
And maybe they are the toughest ones to answer. It will probably take someone stepping up and putting that exclamation point at the end of the game like Tobias Harris did against the Sixers and the Hawks oh so long ago.
“I’ll take blame for this one. I made some big mistakes at the end of the game and overtime. Some turnovers and missed shots I think I should have made.” –Nikola Vucevic
At least you could not fault the Magic for going to their most consistent offensive option down the stretch in Nikola Vucevic, even if he was struggling to execute on some good looks.
“It’s a tough one,” Nikola Vucevic said. “We feel like we had them and we should have closed out the game. I’ll take blame for this one. I made some big mistakes at the end of the game and overtime. Some turnovers and missed shots I think I should have made. As one of the best players on the team i should have made those plays. I feel like I let my team down. This was a tough one. We had them where we wanted to and we just couldn’t pull out the game.”
Vucevic went two for five with two turnovers and 4-for-6 shooting from the foul line in the final seven minutes of the game. Orlando went to him in critical stretches of overtime. But he missed a hook shot, missed an open jumper and then turned the ball over as four or five Heat players surrounded him and the Magic trailing by one.
The ball was in his hands with an opportunity. He took personal responsibility for his part.
Now the learning for the next time must come. Because no one wants this to happen again and again.