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Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 12: I can haz winning? Gess nawt

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 14, 2016; London, United Kingdom; The Orlando Magic mascot performs during the game between the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Global Games at The O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Leo Mason-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2016; London, United Kingdom; The Orlando Magic mascot performs during the game between the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Global Games at The O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Leo Mason-USA TODAY Sports /
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Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov 18, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Evan Fournier (10) drives between Minnesota Timberwolves forward Tayshaun Prince (12) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half of a basketball game at Amway Center. The Magic won 104-101 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

The short answer is: Yes’ish.

This is essentially a .500 team. Which is still beyond what I expected for this season back in October. Even if the Magic end up finishing a few games under that mark or fading under the pressure of their ridiculous February and March schedules, this is essentially a .500 team.

That is to say, it feels, like against most of the other mediocre teams, the Magic have as good shot at winning as losing. And whether they do or not comes down to individual plays or how the Magic are playing in that moment.

That is an OK thing, to be honest. At the beginning of the season, I was talking about 35 wins at least. So to be talking about actually completing the goal of achieving a winning record is a pretty strong accomplishment.

That February and March schedule is pretty brutal. The Magic are going to crash to reality at some point — they may already be doing so with this losing stretch in January.

But more important than the team’s overall record, the Magic have learned a lot about where they are at in this rebuild and can make some key decisions to build a roster that can actually compete.

Will the team stay at .500? It certainly does not seem so right now. But the team has already in many ways proven itself as a .500-caliber team.

Like their games right now, they have to show they can play at that level for an entire season. I do think the team will bounce back and burn off wins again, they just have to dig themselves out of this slump first. Hopefully it does not come too late.

Next: Decision time at the trade deadline?