The same rules apply for new Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are a new team with a new identity. But they still must follow the same rules as before to succeed. Rules they broke Wednesday.

The Orlando Magic are a new team. Even in defeat, they have a different style about them. Their rules and must-haves for victory? Those never change.

The Magic still need to do certain things in order to succeed. The roster and the philosophy may change, but the things the Magic have to do to win remain very much the same. They are the basic principles of basketball and go without saying.

The Magic have to move the ball, “trusting the pass,” as coach Frank Vogel likes to say. They have to attack aggressively, stay patient within their offense and avoid breakdowns on the defensive end.

None of those things happened in the Orlando Magic’s 101-90 loss to the New York Knicks at Amway Center on Wednesday.

Orlando was always playing from behind. Only the Knicks’ general poor play (they are not much better than the Magic despite Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis on the roster) kept the Magic in the game. The Knicks went ahead by 16 in the third quarter but the magic kept the deficit around nine or 10 points for much of the second half.

None of that mattered. It really did not. Not with the way the Magic were playing. It never felt the Magic had much of a chance to cut into the deficit.

And it was solely because of the Magic’s poor play.

"“For some reason, we just couldn’t find a rhythm offensively to score,” Nikola Vucevic told Orlando Magic Daily after the game. “I thought we had some solid looks early on that we didn’t convert on. We just couldn’t get anything going. It is tough to win games like that.”"

Orlando indeed struggled to score for much of the night, hovering at less than 40-percent shooting for much of the evening (finishing at 41.0 percent for the night). The Magic shot just 5 for 25 from beyond the arc and recorded a season-low 11 assists.

Orlando Magic

It was a similar story for the Magic against this specific opponent.

The last time the Magic lost to the Knicks in late December, the Magic had a similar frustrating effort. They got beat to loose balls and generally beat in all the areas they could not if they wanted to win games.

Orlando gave up dribble penetration and let the Knicks wreaked havoc in the paint, pulling the Magic’s second-level defense and help-side defense far off their man.

It all established New York’s dominance in the game.

"“In the first half, we did not contain the basketball well,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily. “It’s kind of who we’ve been all year. We don’t take enough pride keeping our man in front of us. We did a better job in the second half. We have to continue to try to push that concept.”"

This is not who the Magic are or, at least, who they are supposed to be.

The Magic still want to be a strong defensive team. And even with them becoming more active in and around the basketball, they still have to take care of their basic responsibilities.

Orlando recovered after giving up 61 first-half points to give up 41 in the second half. That should generally be enough to get Orlando a win. But the offense remained a continuing problem.

Vogel often tells his team they need to “trust the pass.” Without a strong superstar to break down the defense, they need to rely on drive and kicks to generate good shots.

Vogel said the team did not do a good enough job on its ball reversals and making sure the ball worked its way to the other side of the floor. Too often the Magic got caught playing two-man games on one side of the floor.

And with the Knicks able to switch on almost every screen, the offense further bogged down. That naturally depressed the assist totals and ball movement. Orlando could not figure out a way to get around it.

"“They’re long,” Aaron Gordon told Orlando Magic Daily after the game. “They are definitely a smart team and they switch. I think the switching was making us slightly stagnant. But it’s something we need to figure out. Continue to move the ball and continue to attack.”"

The Magic never adjusted to it. And they struggled to stick with their standard for play.

It is something the Magic are still developing.

But ultimately it was the same in December as it is today, Orlando has to do certain things well to win games.

They have to move the ball and work together, getting the ball to weak side on multiple drive and kicks to get the defense out of whack. They have to secure rebounds and defend at a high level. They have to push the ball in transition.

The Magic are still trying to figure out how to do these consistently. And without that consistency, they are not going to win consecutively. They will fail to build momentum.

"“Unfortunately, we’re not consistent with what we do ,” Evan Fournier told Orlando Magic Daily. “Either offensively on the way we play or defensively on how aggressive we are and the rotation and stuff. We’re just not consistent. That’s the bottom line. That’s wy we can’t get two wins in a row."

Next: Grades: New York Knicks 101, Orlando Magic 90

Orlando must still follow its rules to succeed.