Frank Vogel confident Orlando Magic set to turn the corner

Frank Vogel has been encouraged by the Orlando Magic’s play, saying only a few plays have turned the game against them. He feels the breakthrough is near.

The Orlando Magic have been a mixed bag through the first month of the season. Heading into this final home game before a big road trip, the Magic have struggled to win consistently.

At 6-10, Orlando is not out of anything by any means, but there are definitely some warning signs of trouble ahead. Namely, the offense’s struggles to get out from the bottom of the league. Even with a top-10 defense, the Magic are struggling to score even 95 points, losing plenty of winnable games.

The Magic are on a three-game losing streak heading into Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a daunting five-game road trip ahead of them. And very clearly something is up that needs some adjusting for the Magic to be successful.

That has not gotten anyone around the Magic down. Most of all coach Frank Vogel.

Vogel has already cut a reputation in the league as someone who is positive and ensures he highlights what the team is doing well in film studies while still holding his team accountable. But so far the results have not come.

Despite all that, Vogel said he has seen some good signs from his team and remains pretty optimistic the team’s breakthrough offensively will come, just as it has on the defensive end.

"“I think it’s important for a coach to be real and objective,” Vogel told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “If we were coming out and playing with poor effort and making repeated mistakes or things that are just completely unacceptable, and they need to be jumped [on] or reprimanded or shaken up and all that type of stuff, then I would be that way. But when the effort and the intensity is there and I feel like I’m getting a genuine effort from these guys, and they’re caring the right way, then I think that’s got to be highlighted.”"

So far, it seems the Magic have shown effort and willingness to improve . . . for the most part. The Magic have risen into the top 10 defensively in the last two or three weeks. And that is an extreme testament to the work the team put in.

The offense is still coming.

Overall, though, Vogel remains confident his team will turn that corner and are putting themselves in a position to eke out wins. They jus thave to get over that last hump.

"“I believe we’re close,” Vogel told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. “We are fighting. It’s not perfect, obviously, or we’d be winning these games, but in three games in a row we’re two-or-three plays away from a three-game winning streak. Or, it would be a five-game winning streak.“I’m proud of the effort that we’re playing with, but we’re not getting rewarded with some Ws,” Vogel added. “Our guys are playing extremely hard and everybody’s attitude has been good and they’re pulling in the right direction, and that doesn’t always happen when you lose a couple in a row in this league.”"

The Magic’s offense notwithstanding, the team has had a chance to win every game since the blowout loss in Indiana. The Magic, as Vogel reiterates, are only a couple plays from being on a nice win streak.

But close is not good enough. Not with so much at stake for the long course of the season.

The Magic have plenty of things to work on. They still need better offensive execution and to avoid “energy-zapping” plays particularly early in the game. The team does lose grip when they take too many bad shots and try to force their offense too much.

While the team struggled in the first quarter Friday against the Washington Wizards, the Magic came up big in the final three quarters with a more than respectable 114.9 offensive rating.

During this three-game losing streak, the Magic have a -5.4 net rating while holding teams to 95.4 points per 100 possessions. A little offensive injection would help the team tremendously.

Vogel still believes the team is close.

“I thought we’ve been playing with good urgency in these last three losses and playing well,” Vogel said. “Two or three plays and we are looking at a two or three-game win streak. Our guys are continuing to compete.”

Next: Orlando Magic facing must wins before road trip

That can often be the difference for a team still on the brink. Vogel and the Magic are hoping that breakthrough is coming soon.