Orlando Magic Power Rankings Roundup: Sinking toward the bottom

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Serge Ibaka, Orlando Magic, Montrezl Harrell, Houston Rockets

Jan 6, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell (5) steals the ball from Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) during the second half at Amway Center. Houston Rockets defeated the Houston Rockets 100-93. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Orlando Magic are struggling to find their identity and the Playoff dreams are quickly fading away. The team is sinking toward the bottom in January.

The Orlando Magic knew January would be a turning point for them. When the schedule came out in August, everyone pointed quickly to January as a difficult month and suggested the Magic would have to come together quickly and bank some wins in the first half of the season to weather this storm.

The process of coming together took much longer than everyone anticipated. The team has muddled along, hovering a few games below .500 and just outside the Playoff race. A sense that the team could make a run with a quick push remained.

Then the January schedule began to kick in. Orlando is 1-4 since the calendar turned to 2017. The team is not in the dire straits of going 2-12 like last year (yet). But the Magic also did not have the cushion of a 19-13 start like last year.

Orlando is desperately trying to make the Playoffs this year. And this is not the way to do it. It feels like a trade is imminent to get this team to that goal. It almost has to be.

What the Magic are working with simply is not good enough.

Since Dec. 1, the Magic’s defense is 26th in the league in defensive rating. This is a team that at one point seemed to be thriving on the defensive end and wanted to build an identity on that end. Offensively, Orlando is 18th in that same time period.

Overall, the Magic are still 28th in offensive rating and 19th in defensive rating. That is not the picture of a team heading to the Playoffs — much less their -5.0 net rating is 27th in the league, essentially a bottom-five team.

The schedule only gets tougher. January is brutal and this six-game road trip has only just begun. And Orlando already lost the team’s most winnable game, at least on paper.

The Magic are going to have to rally again and find that identity they have lost since November.

Otherwise, they will continue sinking to the bottom of the league.