The Orlando Magic had a disappointing turn in the second quarter of the season. With the Playoffs fading, what questions must the Magic next?
There is no halftime to the NBA season. But the midway point is always a good point to take a pause and evaluate the first half of the season. Even as the games keep hurtling forward.
The Orlando Magic certainly will look back at the second quarter of their season with disappointment.
The team was 9-12 heading into the second quarter of the season, but had some momentum building. The Magic were finishing up that long road trip feeling good. The first game of the second quarter was that fateful win over the Washington Wizards.
The Magic have not been the same since that game. Orlando sat at 17-24 at the midpoint of the season, going 8-12 in the second quarter. The transformation on defense has been the most alarming.
Tthe team’s defense was the third best in the entire league through the first quarter of the season. In the second quarter of the season, the Magic sank to 28th in the league.
That is quite a turnaround. Orlando was the third best defense in the first quarter of the season and the third worst in the second quarter.
That shows the incredible inconsistency for this team.
While the record remains relatively identical, the way the team got there has been completely different. The Magic built their first quarter on defense even if the team struggled to score. The second quarter, it seemed the Magic were hanging by a thread and barely keeping their head above water.
The fall the team is seeing now seemed inevitable from its second half. Perhaps the Magic’s second quarter is a prelude of things getting worse.
The first half of the season is behind the Magic now. It is on to the third quarter of the season, an absolutely vital one for the team.
In the next 21 games, the Magic will pass the All-Star Break and the trade deadline. The future for the franchise will get set in the next few weeks as the season hurtles onward.
Orlando has lost the first three games of the third quarter of the season. And there are big questions the Magic need to answer sooner rather than later.
What direction will the Orlando Magic move in the future?
The biggest date in the third quarter of the season is Feb. 23. That is the NBA’s trade deadline and a big day for the Magic and their franchise history.
Orlando is quickly fading out of the Playoff race. This bet to make the Playoffs is quickly coming up broke.
That is not to say the Magic cannot climb back into the race. They are 4.5 games out and have a lot of teams to climb over. The odds of them doing so are fewer and fewer.
And that means the Magic, inevitably and likely to make a deal anyway, are going to have to make a deal that moves their team toward whatever future the franchise wants to have.
In all likelihood, the Magic will trade Serge Ibaka. They will try to recoup assets and ensure they do not lose the star forward without some compensation after this failed Playoff push. What kind of player or package they get in return likely determines the direction the Magic head for the next several years.
This is a big decision for the team. And it is unclear which direction they will go.
Regardless if the team tries to push in for more veterans to set up a 2018 Playoff run or if they go back and reset their rebuild, the Magic must pick a direction and truly commit to it. This season’s revamp had a sense of the team abandoning a long-term plan and putting all their focus on one season.
Those kinds of plans can end with disastrous results. Such as what the Magic are seeing now.
Orlando has fallen short of its goals. Now management has to determine how to move forward from here.
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.
How much can Aaron Gordon grow?
The Aaron Gordon experiment has been the most controversial and discussed aspect of the Orlando Magic’s season. With the Playoffs slowly receding, the Magic’s season may quickly become about showcasing Aaron Gordon and letting him grow.
Whatever anyone thinks about Gordon playing the 3, there have been undeniable successes and some potential frustrations.
His defensive job on James Harden in the Magic’s last home game before the road trip agains tthe Houston Rockets was extremely encouraging. Harden shot worse than 50 percent and had only six free throws. Gordon was instrumental to keeping that game close by eliminating Harden as a consistent driving threat.
Gordon has done that to several solid NBA wings and his presence as a perimeter defender has been the most encouraging and consistent aspect of the Magic’s season.
Everyone is simply waiting for his offense to come around. So far, it has come in fits and starts.
If the second quarter showed anything, it is he is gaining comfort. And, as Gordon would admit toward the end of the quarter, he was finally feeling fully healthy after a late offseason ankle injury forced him to sit out much of training camp.
In the second quarter of the season, Gordon averaged 13.0 points per game and shot 46.9 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from beyond the arc. Those are well above his season averages and are a good sign that he is trending up in his new position. He had two 30-point games and added a 28-point game against the Clippers on the road for good measure.
Consistency remains an issue with Gordon (as it is for everyone on the team), but Gordon is certainly more consistent on the defensive end than anyone else. And he is very good at letting things come to him. He does not force plays. His offense always seems to come very naturally.
If anything in the third quarter, the Magic need to rely more on Gordon and trust him with more. Especially as the focus turns toward the future.
Gordon should receive more responsibility.
What is Nikola Vucevic’s value?
The question may finally come to a head in the next month. What exactly is Nikola Vucevic’s value to the Orlando Magic?
Clearly Vucevic has a deep tie to the Orlando community. He was unhappy about his move to the bench and bristled at the notion he would not start, but he took the demotion in stride and professionally. He contributed well and quickly earned his way back into the starting lineup.
This quarter was an up and down ride for him.
But Vucevic has established himself as a consistent player for the team. Someone Frank Vogel has even admitted he needs to use more effectively.
Vucevic has made an incredible turn defensively this year. Vogel’s teaching in verticality has helped turn Vucevic into a positive defensive player, although he still has a weakness in the pick and roll.
His jumper is still a bit below his career averages, but they seem to be quickly rebounding.
The elephant in the room though is Vucevic’s contract. It is extremly team friendly — $25 million for the next two years — and teams will be calling about him., especially with the Magic shopping to improve the team or move the next phase.
Vucevic is improving. He is probably the best center on the Magic roster. His defensive outbreak has made the Bismack Biyombo signing look a bit extraneous. And certainly overpriced.
Orlando has to figure out, as much as anything, what Vucevic’s futre is with the franchise. And that will be something the team has to figure out in the next month and a half.
What will make Orlando Magic fans hopeful for the future?
The Orlando Magic did a lot of selling this offseason on the Playoff dreams. Vogel repeated it at the open practice and the players squarely made it their goal.
As that dream seems to be quickly fading and the Magic transition to something else, the question becomes what will their goals be for the rest of the season and what will they do to continue drawing fans into the Amway Center?
Yes, this is still a business. That might have had a lot to do with the Playoff push to begin with. Four years is the longest Playoff drought in Magic history and the franchise is at its lowest, most inconsistent point in its short history.
As the team begins to shape its future, what will they sell the fans on?
Aaron Gordon is a great start. Another dunk contest performance could certainly draw a ticket. A big trade will also up the curiosity. But these are all short-term solutions. The Magic eventually will have to put a product on the floor fans will want to see. And the constant losing — and not even threatening a Playoff spot — is going to wear on longtime fans.
that might explain some of the urgency for this season. And the depth of its failure.
Next: Orlando Magic must make choice and move on
Something on the court is going to have to give fans hope for what is an increasingly murky future for the team. And what the Magic do on the court this quarter could help set the Magic in that direction.