Orlando Magic Week 16 Takeaways: Confidence returns
By Brett Roberts
1) The Magic play to the level of their competition
We have seen the team be right there with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, though both games resulted in close losses. The Magic also disposed of the Atlanta Hawks in two pretty close games (two point win margin and seven in overtime). What needs to change is the Magic need to play that well against all opponents.
The Magic seem to do what it takes to stay in a game, only to blow it at the end.
Sure, there was the fact it came on some antics by Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard, two top-notch players, but Orlando could have avoided that by putting further distance between themselves and their opponents. The Spurs game in particular was bad as Orlando allowed San Antonio to erase a 14-point deficit in the final quarter. Which brings me to point two.
2) Killer Instinct is still not there
The Magic can build substantial leads against teams, both good ones and bad ones, but the tendency to go after a team’s throat after that seldom materializes. If the Magic had come out hard the first six minutes of the fourth quarter of the Spurs game and extended the lead to 20, Gregg Popovich likely would have yanked his starters.
There is building a lead, then there is building an insurmountable lead. The latter is something the Magic rarely do, and it is because they let up on the gas peddle.
3) Aaron Gordon is starting to arrive
In February, in the Magic’s last six games, Aaron Gordon is posting 9.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while also coming up with nearly two blocks/steals per game.
This should become the norm. He has the athleticism, energy and work ethic to be a menace on the boards, especially the offensive ones. His tap outs have created even more “team rebounds,” and his value is going even beyond what the statistics have shown.
It can be expected when the Magic look at deals this week teams are going to be pushing for his inclusion in bigger trades. It likely will not happen.
He has shown enough promise now to obliterate the idea he is any sort of bust. It tends to require playing time to thrive, and he is finally getting it.
In the Magic’s last 10 games he is seeing 30.4 minutes per night. That figure will only increase as time goes on. Gordon is the real deal.
4) Scott Skiles is still rewarding the players that play best each night with the most playing time
Scott Skiles’ tendency to be a prisoner of the moment is causing a problem of sorts: The Magic do not have an established rotation and guys do not know when they will play, who will close games or when they might even record a DNP-CD.
One need look no further than the disappearance of Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson to see Skiles is being a little flippant with his choices.
Just a month ago or so, both were key cogs in the Magic’s rotation, and now neither is playing. That type of inconsistency and lack of a consistent rotation makes it difficult for players to know their roles.
Next: Power Rankings Roundup