The Orlando Magic returned from the All-Star Break an entirely new team. And now with an entirely new approach, the team gets a chance to reset.
The Orlando Magic’s practice Tuesday, the first since the end of the All-Star Break, finished the same way their first practice in October finished. A layup drill.
Magic players had to pass the ball to a coach at the free throw line, take the ball back, pass the ball to the other end of the court, receive it again and make a layup. The team had two minutes to make a certain amount of layups total or else face the drill again.
In training camp, it was a competitive team game that taught the group the need to run and pick up the pace. Here — at least for the media, which had not seen the drill conducted since training camp — it was a reminder of the team’s newness once again and just how much things have changed.
With the All-Star Break behind them, the final push this season would be its own mini-season. Not quite a fresh start, but definitely a reset of sorts.
“Fresh start is a strong word. It definitely brings something new,” Evan Fournier said. “The addition of Terrence , Serge being gone, us playing more of a small-ball team. It is definitely going to be like a new season. We’re trying to get ready for next year but also trying to win now. We have to create habits.”
The Magic may be backing off some of the win-now 2017 Playoff rhetoric. But they are well aware they are setting things up for the 2018 season. So call the final 24 games after the All-Star Break as a dry run.
That is the reset that is occurring.
Swapping out a key player like Serge Ibaka for Terrence Ross has created an almost entirely new team. And the All-Star Break represents a chance to start over, to some extent.
It starts with that new player in Terrence Ross.
Ross participated in his first practice with the team Tuesday as the Magic returned from the All-Star Break. There was some getting used to the new digs and new teammates taking place.
Ross said the biggest challenge for him will be settling into a new routine and getting a rhythm. He said the terminology is different and the way the Magic run through their sets is slightly different, but much of the NBA offense are really similar. Understanding how to play is key to integrating.
The Magic noted the difference with Ross on the floor pretty quickly. The Magic certainly welcomed his outside shooting. And Ross too welcomed the opportunity to enter the starting lineup again and get out of DeMar DeRozan‘s shadow.
Ross has had one of his most efficient seasons of his career so far, shooting a career-best 44.1 percent from the floor and averaging 10.4 points per game. There is a sense Ross can take on more. Coach Frank Vogel said the plan is to let Ross spread his wings some.
That alone is not going to change the Magic’s fortunes or send the team on a crazed Playoff run. But the team has some refreshed energy.
That new energy can refresh the season.
“Coach has been stressing we still have life, we’ve just got to play,” Ross said. “I think once we get back out and get in that first game, I think it is going to give us that second wind. He’s going to challenge us to play hard and go out there and try to make a difference. It doesn’t take just one player, it takes the entire team and organization. We are ready to accept that challenge.”
There is a tremendous opportunity for Ross. And he seems poised to do more for the Magic. There will be an adjustment period.
Orlando Magic
Inevitably that means the Magic must integrate him into the offense. And this is where things will really change. To play Ross in the starting lineup, it means playing more spread offenses.
The Magic are not going to run the traditional two big-man lineup anymore. Or at least, as often.
The Magic had begun to shy away from bigger lineups a few weeks ago when Vogel stopped playing Bismack Biyombo at power forward. The trade only cements that change even further.
This is virtually a new team. The team cannot completely erase the first half of the season, but it can look to move forward and make something of this closing kick.
“Obviously, we didn’t have a good start to our season,” Vogel said. “It is what it is at this point. We have 24 games left to try to make something out of it. It is a reset because of the All-Star Break and because we have shifted our identity even further.”
The Magic are starting in quite the hole. They are 21-37 and 6.5 games out of the final Playoff spot. The eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons are currently on pace for 39 wins, meaning the Magic would have to finish 18-6 to get to that pace.
It is obviously a tall task.
While the Magic still seem willing to push for the Playoffs. It is less about trying to win and more about establishing a culture of winning. Evan Fournier admitted the Playoffs are a long shot this year. It is not likely to happen.
But he said the thing is for the team to play well. The focal point is less on wins and losses at this point.
“The thing for us right now is just playing good basketball,” Fournier said. “Playing good basketball, create good habits and playing winning basketball. That’s how you get better. The focal point is on playing good ball so we can get better as a team and create habits for the team.”
Vogel concurred. He said he wants the team not to focus on trying to make up ground in the Playoff chase. They should not be watching the standings and hoping other teams trip up.
The focus should remain on the Magic themselves and learning how to win.
It is a message and expectation shift for sure. The run to the end of the season instead is that dry rehearsal for 2018. It is a chance for the Magic to play a new style and build habits that will help them push for the 2018 Playoffs.
“The biggest thing for our franchise, our team and our organization is this team has to learn how to win no matter what it looks like,” Vogel said.
“Right now we’re 0-0. We’re not going to focus on the standings and how many games we’ve got to make up or anything like that. We’re going to focus on bringing maximum effort to practice and maximum focus into the game planning and preparations and all the little habits that our young players need to develop.”
The rest of this season is played with that focus.
So, no, the Magic are not about to pack things in and play for added ping pong balls in the Lottery. They will be judged by the same Playoff standard in these last 24 games. And it would appear whatever weaknesses they have will be the targets to fill in free agency and in the Draft this summer.
Next: It's up to the Orlando Magic to make the most of what's next
The Magic’s second season begins Thursday.