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Orlando Magic Season Review: What Went Wrong — January

By David Iwanowski

Jan 9, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Scott Skiles yells to a referee during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. The Washington Wizards won 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Scott Skiles yells to a referee during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. The Washington Wizards won 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Scott Skiles, Orlando Magic
Jan 9, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Scott Skiles yells to a referee during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. The Washington Wizards won 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

The month of January was a pivotal point in the season for the Orlando Magic, and it resulted in a nightmare of a slide in the standings.

The Orlando Magic entered the 2016 calendar year with a 19-13 record, and all was well in the Magic Kingdom.

Then January hit. And after those 31 days had passed, the Magic’s Playoff hopes looked extremely slim despite having a bit less than half the season remaining.

The Magic went 2-12 in January, and often times would not even look competitive. They tied the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns for lowest win total in the month, and finished with the third lowest net rating.

Many analysts predicted some sort of drop off in January for the Magic, as the schedule was set to become tougher — complete with a trip to London to play the Toronto Raptors. But no one saw the Magic falling off this fully and completely.

The Magic lost in pretty much every way possible: poor execution late in the fourth quarter, as they did against the Indiana Pacers, overtime losses against the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors, and start to finish blowouts such as against Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

So what exactly was the issue for the Magic during the month of January? Pretty much everything, but a few aspects of their play happened to stand out.

Next: Defensive slippage