Orlando Magic Daily
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5 questions the Orlando Magic face in the season’s third quarter

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 20, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and center Bismack Biyombo (11) high five against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-96. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and center Bismack Biyombo (11) high five against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-96. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic
Jan 8, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) defends a shot by Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Can the Orlando Magic play with consistent effort?

Beyond what happens in the front office, there are still games to play and the team should not lose sight on any short-term goals. Winning games is still a good thing and the Magic are not at a stage where they should be outright tanking quite yet.

The first step to getting anything going on the floor is to resolve the issue that seems to keep coming up and seemingly reached a head with Wednesday’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. It is the most basic thing.

The Orlando Magic simply do not know what kind of effort their team will give them from a game-to-game basis. And that is a problem no matter what the team’s goals might be.

The road trip is a perfect example of this. In the losses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans, the Magic’s defense looked completely lifeless. It was as if the team was not merely not on the same page, but unfamiliar with the schemes they were running. Everything was a mess.

Yet, in those other three games against the LA Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, the Magic played with incredible energy and at least solid precision for much of the game. Orlando had a chance to win all three of these games, two against the Western Conference’s elite teams.

Orlando throughout this season has proven it is capable of hanging with and beating the very best teams in the league. They have struggled to play with that intensity every game. if they did, they could surely beat the teams they are fighting with for Playoff positioning and certainly the teams worse than them.

But their inability to do so every night has held the team back and put them in this frustrating position. Orlando has to find consistency and it starts with effort.