For those thinking the schedule may help in stopping the Orlando Magic’s bleeding, a rude awakening is in store here. How Orlando responds will determine its fate.
The Orlando Magic now have dropped seven straight games and 11 of its past 12.
The bleak and opaque reality surrounding the upcoming schedule only casts further doubts on any potential playoff berth.
The Magic now linger 2.5 games behind No. 8 Indiana, and without a return to winning basketball, the Magic will be in the lottery again. It just did not seem it would come to this when the Magic were rolling along at 19-13 as the calendar year turned over.
2016 has brought nothing but bad times to the Magic, and it is difficult to see when the losses may halt if the upcoming schedule is realized for what it is:
Brutal.
The Magic’s next 10 games all come against playoff contenders or playoff teams. Orlando will catch its biggest break in the back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics, hardly an easy opponent. The back-to-back same opponent games typically result in splits. But nothing has been typical for the Magic.
Following the pair of games against Boston, the Magic encounter the second-best team in the NBA thus far, the San Antonio Spurs — on the road, on the second night of a back to back. The Magic turn around two nights later to play in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Thunder have won eight of its past 10 games, while comfortably manning the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference.
After that the Magic come home for two games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks. Both are playoff teams and the Hawks won 60 games last season (and are 2-0 against the Magic this year). The Magic repeat the Hawks in Atlanta before hosting San Antonio before the All-Star Break. Then Dallas and Indiana come to Amway Center.
That brings us to Feb. 21 with a run of games that all would be “respectable losses.” But Orlando cannot afford to take a casual approach with this stretch of games. Losing all 10 of the next 10 following a split with Boston, would quite obviously sink the ship.
Yet, with the Magic blowing close games to the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks, is it even easy to imagine the Magic staying with the Spurs or Thunder?
The Magic also host the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 25, and can only hope it is not a game that stirs laughter in an embarrassing defeat.
The only teams Orlando faces out of the playoff picture between now and the end of February are two games against the Philadelphia 76ers and a game against the New York Knicks. But the Sixers just defeated the Magic, so where does one begin to start with any expectations at this point?
When the Magic are falling to the Sixers, it seems that is as low as the barrel can be dredged. The Magic allowed Ish Smith to break down and dismantle their defense. The bar cannot be set a lot lower than that.
The Magic have major dysfunctions within their team defense, and it seems a lot of the “accountability factor” we spoke of early in the season is just gone.
How does Orlando prepare for this brutal 10-game stretch through the next three-plus weeks?
It does not seem there is a preparation that can be made. The Magic need to dig deeply within some fresh wound and look at tape from this streak. Diagnosing why guys are not making the rotations they should be is a labor-intensive process.
And then they need to go out and implement those changes they have discussed on end this month.
Orlando would be wise to think back to what worked so well early in the season. Granted, the schedule was softer, but Orlando started the season 0-3 against three tough, contending opponents.
At that point we had reason for optimism, because Orlando was in games. But being “in games” against mediocre or even poor opponents is hardly the hallmark of a postseason team.
Next: Orlando Magic's struggles a matter of trust
The Magic now determine if they are one or not.