Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

One thing is certain, the Orlando Magic know how to respond

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dec 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) reacts and celebrates against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) reacts and celebrates against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

It may not be game to game. It may not be consistent. But the Orlando Magic find a way to respond when they get knocked down the previous outing.

The Orlando Magic got together following their loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday and had to promise each other they would not let another effort like that happen again.

The Magic did some good things — Frank Vogel said after Friday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers the Magic did play with a “pure spirit” against the Knicks — but they got outworked and beat. They could not run through the motions.

In those dark hours as the team left Madison Square Garden and made the long journey home to Orlando for a game the next day, the Magic had plenty of time to stew on what they would do the next night.

As they gathered pregame, two of their big leaders in Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo told the team they had the rim and to play with aggression. Certainly, the Magic will not go through the crazy energetic start defensively they had in Friday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers, but it was a good tone setter.

The Magic responded emphatically.

“I think as a team we learned from [Thursday’s] game,” Serge Ibaka said. “They outworked us last night. Today we came with the mindset that we’re going to start better. We’re going to work against the team we’re playing.”

Orlando will have difficulty matching that kind of play. The Magic’s franchise record for blocks in a quarter had stood for 23 years before Friday night.

But it was an energetic and clear statement of who this Magic team can be. The loss Thursday awoke their attention and urgency. And the results were obvious. Orlando pressed the gas and never let up.

The one thing that became clear was the Magic, like they have after devastating losses, grounded themselves and made an emphatic response. Something they have done at several points this year.

Following their devastating loss at Memphis, Orlando blew out the Philadelphia 76ers to get their road trip back on track. Orlando followed the 88-69 loss at Indiana with a gutsy effort in a win at home over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Magic dropped three straight after their road trip and came back with their stellar offensive effort against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Magic are not always the cleanest team at bouncing back. But they always find the resolve to get better. Their losing streaks have never gotten out of control. They have played .500 basketball since December began and have not lost more than four games in a row.

Orlando will have to put together a sustained win streak at some point if the team wants to make the Playoffs. But, despite some difficult and frustrating losses, the Magic are doing a good job treading water.

“We haven’t been perfect a lot of times this year,” Vogel said. “We knew it would take a little time to gel. It’s still going to take some time to gel and grow our consistency that’s going to take place throughout the season. We do have pride. We do have expectations and aspirations to be a playoff team and hopefully gel and hit our stride at the right time late in the season when we are going into the playoffs so we can have success in the playoffs. We believe in ourselves and have a lot of pride.”

These kinds of responses feed that belief the Magic can still make a big playoff push. The consistency issue remains.

It is nice Orlando has been able to bounce back and stem the tide. The Magic are still figuring out how to prevent these games from happening in the first place.

Orlando went from a devastating 30-point loss at home against the Toronto Raptors to start the week to a gutsy double-overtime win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday to disappointing effort Thursday against the Knicks and, finally, stellar all-around performance against the Lakers at home.

That was all in one week.

“We can’t get outworked two nights in a row,” Bismack Biyombo said. “I think one night is enough. We have to pick ourselves up and get it done. For us, it was about coming back home and taking care of business. We have to get back to establish ourselves as a defensive team.”

The Magic cannot seem to put two good performances back to back right now. That is the most frustrating aspect of this team. No one seems able to explain the inconsistency of the team’s ability from game to game.

That might be the next big mystery for the Magic heading toward the season’s midpoint. It is the big question for the Magic as they seek some form of consistency and identity.

Next: Top 3 items on Orlando Magic's Christmas wish list

For now, Orlando is finding some momentary resolve to push back against the potential losing streaks they face. And at least when they get knocked down, they find a way to get back up.