The Orlando Magic are eliminated from the Playoffs, now what?

The Orlando Magic were officially eliminated from the Playoffs following Friday’s loss to the Miami Heat. With 10 games left, what is left? Only to win

The writing had long been on the wall since the Orlando Magic went 2-12 in January, throwing a 19-13 start. The Playoffs were a dream, a distant one, but still achievable. And with each passing week and each frustrating loss, they disappeared slowly and slowly.

It may have been near impossible, but at least there was a chance. Always that glimmer of hope.

Scott Skiles came out of the All-Star Break urging his team to push for 20 wins in the final 30 games — at least 18 to get to .500 — and make that Playoff run. He challenged them to play with urgency and shape up after a month of disaster. This was not the time to pack it in.

The team did not heed that call. The carrot of competing for the Playoffs was not enough. It was plenty easy to talk about it and too much to learn how to play with that kind of pressure and those kinds of stakes.

After the Magic’s 108-97 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday, the Magic are officially out of the Playoffs. The dream has been extinguished. The frustration of numerous close losses boiled over into disappointing efforts and inconsistency. This was a team not destined for that greatness.

Maybe they never were. The Vegas over/unders at the beginning of the season had them winning 32. I had them at 35, and felt that was optimistic. If things broke right and the team played really well, perhaps they could accomplish all their lofty goals and make the Playoffs with a winning record. This team still needed growth.

It may not have been exactly what the Magic wanted, but there has been some growth. But also plenty of frustration. Plenty of discouragement. And plenty of questions.

A full evaluation can come at the end of the season. There are still 10 games to play. Still things to learn and still things to accomplish. Even if they are ultimately meaningless for the 2016 season.

The Orlando Magic had several stated goals entering the season. They wanted to play meaningful games deeper into the season. Whether they accomplished that can be left to debate.

They wanted to establish accountability and create a culture where winning was the habit. In this goal the Magic have struggled the most.

It was hard to tell what the Magic’s identity was throughout the season. It was hard to figure out what they were and were not getting. It was hard to assign blame. Was it Scott Skiles’ stubbornness and slow-to-trust nature with young players? Was it the players inability to meet a standard rather than the pats on the back they received for the past three years?

All these questions are healthy to ask as this season comes to a close. The kinds of question Rob Hennigan needs to ask as he evaluates the season.

But there are still 10 games remaining. Ten opportunities for . . . something.

These final 10 games are not something to be wasted. The Magic were always playing the long game with this season and with this team. They were aiming to build a sustainable winning team through the draft. The 2016 Magic were never going to be the final product. They were another step on the process.

How far that step would take in 2016 was the question. As was determining which players would be part of the process beyond this year and what this team would look like in its wake. Those who stayed have had to suffer through a fourth straight losing season. That final goal still has some merit.

So while the Magic still have young players they need to continue developing and gaining experience, the final 10 games should not see a shift in goals or a change in attitude. Mario Hezonja or Aaron Gordon should not all of a sudden see 35 minutes per game. It is not like they are unseating veteran players who are not part of the future anyway — Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo still need their minutes too. Changing things only reinforces the bad habits that put the Magic in this situation.

The final 10 games need to be about what the first 72 were supposedly about — winning.

Or at least trying to win. Trying to continue building habits and expectations that will carry out into the summer and into next season. The worst thing anyone can do is pack it in and give up the final three weeks of the season.

There is no turning back to that.

It is fair to say the first three years of this rebuild were spent losing. Young players were thrown into the fire, patted on the back when they made mistakes and turned out to learn from their mistakes in action.

Scott Skiles is not that coach. He was not hired to be that coach. He was hired to take a player out when he makes a mistake and teach him while someone else got the job done. He was brought in to create a culture where winning was all that mattered, not how good you could get through losing.

Elfrid Payton has been the lightning rod of this new Orlando Magic. Both frustrating and brilliant at points this season.

He turned in a triple double Wednesday and said, “It would have been nicer in a win,” with a disgusted look on his face. He had another strong game Friday — 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists — and he had a simple message: “No moral victories.”

Even if his play was not consistent, he at least got that message. Losses are not OK. Figuring out how to win has been the difficult part.

Every game remains an opportunity to learn.

It remains an opportunity for Mario Hezonja to get meaningful playing time and get more comfortable in the NBA game. He needs to continue showing growth and improvement after an uneven rookie year. But his minutes will not be gifted to him, he still has to earn them.

It remains an opportunity to win those games late and find the resolve to pull out a close game. It remains an opportunity to fight and find the girt it takes to win.

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They have not found that throughout the season. Perhaps hey had it in December when things seemed to be going so smoothly and lost it. There are still 10 chances to try to find that feeling again.

The main point of the season remains the same as the game ticks down. It is the main point of any season really.

The Magic may not have won enough this year. They may not have learned the lessons they needed to at the end of the day.

What remains though is the same goal as before. The same culture-building panacea that drives every team in the NBA at the end of the day. Building a team that has sustained winning, as the Magic management likes to put it, takes time.

It all comes down to that one simple thing. And the Magic should not forget that in these final 10 games.