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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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Jan 29, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (L) steals the ball from Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (R) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 29, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (L) steals the ball from Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (R) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

The month they regret

Overall this season was a big step forward for the Magic. They increased their win total by 10 games and were competitive in a lot of games against tough opponents.

However the games in January displayed such a poor showing the Magic were never able to recover and stay close in the playoff race.

The Magic soon traded Tobias Harris to Detroit, and from there it seemed they were planning for next season already.

Some of the issues the Magic had in January they fixed somewhat (such as ball movement), and some continued to be issues exploited by other teams (such as poor help defense).

The problems were certainly not helped by injuries to C.J. Watson and Elfrid Payton, but those should not be big excuses for the poor quality of play in this span.

The Magic know what they have to improve for next season, and some more time for development plus a lot of cap space will make the organization excited about the future.

Next: What Went Right: December

However, the franchise is likely becoming impatient with the lack of wins, and the team cannot afford to rack up any more months like they did in January of 2016.