The Orlando Magic yet again let a late lead slip away. Recovering from another loss, the Magic spoke about improving late and keeping their composure.
The Orlando Magic had been in this locker room before. They had experienced the pain and disappointment of failing to execute late in games so much.
They had seen difficult-to-blow leads disappear before with little change. A new coach by himself was not going to make things better. It would have been nice if he could.
The first game of the season had a been-here, done-that feel to it as the Magic dropped another close game to the Washington Wizards, 88-87 at Amway Center in the opener.
“It’s frustrating,” Nikola Vucevic said. “We’ve been through a lot of these. We had a solid lead with a minute or so left. We thought we had control of the game. They are a good team, they made some good plays at the end. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do at the end and they came out with the win.”
Orlando had a five-point lead with two minutes to play, but the team had already tightened up. That 7-0 run to retake the lead was the only bright spot in the latter half of the second half.
The Magic’s defense had already begun to crumble a bit with the Wizards pushing the pace to get back into the game.
As Basketball Breakdown notes in this analysis of the final minute of the game, the Magic made repeated mental errors allowing the Wizards to get back into the game and win eventually:
Mario Hezonja taking an ill-advised jumper. Elfrid Payton failing to box out. Poor spacing on a fast break, or failing to recognize when the point is not there.
When players talk about little plays that help decide games, it is these little decisions they are talking about. They added up in the end and the Magic lost the game at the end as they accumulated.
What was also pretty noticeable in watching those plays is the Magic became selfish. Everyone tried to be hero it seemed and the offense quickly broke down. The movement and passing that were hallmarks of the successful moments for the Magic disappeared.
It became very much like the way the Magic played the last few years — heavy on pick and rolls and dribble penetration.
That is not the way Scott Skiles wants his team to play. It is not a luxury the team has with its personnel.
“We don’t have the type of team like some teams or many teams maybe in the NBA that don’t have to run any plays, they just give it to a guy on the top of the floor and he goes and gets you a good shot,” Skiles said. “We have to rely on each other and our movement and we kind of got away from it a little bit.”
The Magic will face one or two of those guys Friday night when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook come to town.
Skiles said the team focuses quite a bit on late-game execution. His focus following Wednesday’s game was less on the final two minutes of the game and more on the final half of the fourth quarter. The Magic gave up a 12-0 run after taking an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
It was at this point Skiles said the Magic lost control of the game. The team he said has to stay more committed to its offense late in games. The focus has to be turned up.
That was clearly not the case Wednesday. And until the Magic improve in that area, these results are more likely to continue.
“As we watched the film, there was a lot of plays out there that were dry plays,” Tobias Harris said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy and didn’t really push ourselves. That’s kind of what we have to be a good team and to win a lot of games in those situations and more energy in the last three minutes. As we watched film, we saw we kind of lacked in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter.”
The question is whether the Magic can fix the problem and grow. Will the Magic blow another late lead the next time they are in a close game? Can they execute and keep their composure?
This has been a question for three years now it seems. Another one of those lingering questions that needs a definitive answer from this roster.
They know they will see a close game again. Likely soon.
To grow and take the step up, the Magic need their repetitions in close games and to succeed in them.
“That’s the next step,” Elfrid Payton said. “We knew that coming into the season. It’s something we have to continue to work at.”