The Orlando Magic have clinched their second straight winning month and find themselves in the Playoff conversation. They know though the work is not done.
Wednesday’s win over the Houston Rockets guaranteed something the Orlando Magic have not seen for several years. A new thing that shows just how far the Magic have progressed and how they have changed the culture and atmosphere around the team.
The Magic clinched their second consecutive winning month with the win over the Rockets. Still with three games remaining. Orlando has the third best win percentage in the NBA since the lineup change on Nov. 23 (11-4 tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and behind only the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs).
It may still feel a bit weird, but this Magic team is one of the best teams in the league right now. Or at least they are playing like it.
“We’ve had that belief since the moment we all got together,” Aaron Gordon said. “We knew this year was going to be different. We knew we were going to have something for teams. We knew we were going to win and we expect to win.”
This is all new to many of the young players on the Magic, of course. They have not had a lot of sustained success in the NBA. The Magic had not had a winning month since Dwight Howard was in uniform.
The team certainly had and should have the expectation to win as any team should. Actually going out and doing it is another matter entirely. And so the Magic going out to this kind of start has been a bit surprising. At least to those outside the organization.
Things change when that happens of course. Teams start focusing on the opponent a little bit more — a trip to the Amway Center or a visit from the Magic is no longer penciled in as a win — and the games get a little more difficult as teams give them their best shot.
Dealing with success can be just as daunting as getting it. Even if this is just a small measure of success.
“We’ve gone from fourth in defensive field goal percentage to 10th or whatever it is in not much more than a week,” coach Scott Skiles said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drop that significant. That’s not good.
“If you are not consistent and just relying on somebody making one big play at the end of the game, you are playing with fire. We got burned in Phoenix, we got burned by the Clippers doing it. We’re just trying to get it back.”
There seems to be no sense the team can hit cruise control and win games. Orlando still has work to do to right the ship for the tough games ahead.
The Magic have seen their defense slip in recent weeks. Ever since the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 6. Since that game, the Magic have a defensive rating of 103.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, 11th best in the league in that time frame. The Magic have let their defense slip just a bit from their season averages.
The coaches and players have noticed this and there is seemingly a constant reminder to buckle down and keep getting to work. Success is not going to anybody’s heads.
Tobias Harris said the team is continuing to work on the little things and the principles that needed reinforcing from training camp. Skiles has said that getting some more practice time can help turn the team back and so the last few weeks with the team at home have been key — even if the team has not necessarily shown the results.
“Coach is always going to be on us defensively. We have goals defensively as a team every single game. That’s the biggest thing we look forward to is reaching those goals.
“It’s a challenge. But at the same, it is a good thing. We know we can achieve those goals and we’re going to hold ourselves to that standard.”
The Magic’s offense so far has taken over some. And they have strung together enough stops to get wins. That has been the uncomfortable method for the recent Magic wins.
And they know they have been playing with fire somewhat, as Skiles said. There is no resting on undeserved laurels. Because they have not earned any of them yet.
So the work continues. And it has to if the team wants to experience that success it envisions in April. A lot can still happen in the course of an 82-game schedule. Measures of success will have to wait until the end of the season.
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“We know we haven’t done anything yet,” Gordon said. “We haven’t accomplished anything that we want to. That’s not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to progress to be the best team we can possibly be, and we’re not even close yet.”