The Orlando Magic are facing an energy gap as they hit their first doldrum of the season. To get back on track it starts with bringing the right approach.
Time/TV:
7 p.m./FSFlorida
Line:
Pacers by 1.5
Tickets: Season Series:in Indianapolis on Nov. 9; Tonight in Orlando; Feb. 21 in Orlando; March 31 in Indianapolis
| Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 99.2 | 102.2 | 98.8 | 49.5 | 23.4 | 14.9 | 27.8 |
| Orlando | 96.7 | 101.7 | 101.6 | 49.9 | 23.6 | 14.8 | 21.4 |
There are pockets in every season where teams do not have the same energy and the same spirits as the beginning of the season. It is natural as the monotony of the 82-game schedules winds its way through.
The difference between teams at the magic’s level making the Playoffs or fading away is often how long these pockets last and how quickly the teams can recover. Can they keep these losing stretches to three games instead of allowing them to balloon to six, seven, eight or more.
“We just talked about we need to respond,” coach Scott Skiles said. “We’ve had a tough stretch where we haven’t been able to win and haven’t played well enough to win. We need just sort of energy acknowledgement. We need a really high energy game tonight. Hopefully get a win, but at least get back on track from being a team the last three or four games that has not played very hard to a team that plays hard.”
That task will be made much more difficult Wednesday with Elfrid Payton missing his second straight game and Evan Fournier questionable with a toe injury.
Skiles said much of the problem comes to the team playing with more energy. That will help get the defense back to a respectable level. The team has to respond to some of the difficulties and troubles the team has had.
The Orlando Magic find themselves searching for energy right now. The team has not played anywhere near the same level that they were earlier in the season. The defensive slippage has been extremely noticeable and the team is finding a major road block in its way.
With 19 wins and a place squarely in the Eastern Conference playoff conversation, teams are coming at the Magic a bit more. As Channing Frye described it after Monday’s loss to the Pistons, there is a responsibility to winning.
“We really don’t want to dwell on the past — where we were at last year and where we could be at now,” Tobias Harris said. “We just want to keep what we had going and that was winning and get back to having fun out there. That was our focus today. All we can do is focus on today’s game and what we have ahead of us. And that’s the Pacers. Really we just have to play harder than them.”
Shabazz Napier said the team has to come together and communicate better like it did earlier. They have to believe in each other and the next guy down the bench that they will do their job too and work on each other.
That responsibility is becoming more apparent as the days of teams sleepwalking past the Magic are well over. Teams come in knowing they need energy early on to blow the Magic out.
In the last five games, the Magic are averaging just 21.6 points per game in the first quarter, shooting 42.6 percent. Worse still, Orlando’s offensive rating in first quarters has plummeted to 93.3 points per 100 possessions while the defensive rating has soared to 111.7 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Harris said the energy early on is noticeable. The team has to recognize teams are giving them the full scouting report and their full attention. Orlando has to match that energy early on, which it has not.
The Magic have put themselves in a deep hole that can be difficult for any team to climb out of.
“It’s effort. That’s what it’s all about,” Napier said. “You can control your effort. You can’t control if the ball is going in. But you can control your energy. I think that’s one of the things that is so contagious about basketball. If you bring energy on the court, your teammates are going to bring energy. And if they are lacking it, that’s when a player or coach will step up and let them know.”
The Magic are looking to fill that energy deficit they have experienced lately.
The losing has been hard, but the team is not out yet. There is always another game and another opportunity to turn things around. Or at least to take some steps forward.
The season is not in panic mode by any stretch of the imagination yet. But the team has to right the ship or risk losing ground again.
Next: Pick and roll defense proving to be a weakness for Orlando Magic
“First off, we have to stay positive with everything,” Harris said. “And we just have to play hard and get back to being scrappy. The next guys that are in here just play together also. That’s going to be our focus. We’ve got to outwork this team and really got to bring our ‘A’ game.”