Orlando Magic need strong start to build from their base

The Orlando Magic are working on building themselves back up brick by brick this season. They need to see progress early to get the buy-in needed to win.

The Orlando Magic are encouraged at this moment.

Their training camp has been a bit of a new experience for every player, despite all the familiarity. Orlando is playing for the same coach for the first time in three seasons. The team feels like it is building off something from the end of last season. And there is optimism about what is ahead of them.

But with a new management group in place, everything seems up in the air. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said he will use the year to evaluate the roster and get to know what they have a bit better. The moves for the future come at a later time. This team, as it stands, get its chance to show itself off.

That is only added pressure on the team to perform or prove themselves. There should be some added urgency. And, even in camp, there seems to be a bit of that urgency knowing how much work the team has to put in to have a successful season. Coach Frank Vogel has been optimistic about the upcoming season. But he recognizes the team has its work cut out for it to accomplish that Playoff goal.

It still seems a bit far-fetched.

But anything seems possible early in October. The Magic have a lot of work to do, but the work is not impossible.

That work gets harder and harder to get going as the season and the preseason goes on. The Magic seem to have a bit of a sense of urgency to turn the tables on the conversation about them. There is a bit of defiance — specifically from Arron Afflalo to Mario Hezonja — about how outsiders perceive this team. There is that chip on their shoulder to prove people wrong.

The team will have to have more than a chip on their shoulder though. They will need something a bit more. They will need to execute on the floor and deliver results to get the kind of buy-in and belief necessary to surprise the NBA world.

That is why these early days of camp and these early preseason games are so important for this team. They want to build a strong base to grow from and then grow quickly. The continuity from their starting lineup is a huge advantage for them if they can make the internal improvement they hope for.

For this team to experience ultimate success, it must succeed early. The team must foster the belief in their system and each other through early success.

That will not be easy. The early season schedule will not do the Magic any favors either. The team plays nine of its first 15 games on the road including the first big West Coast trip of the year. The Magic will have to get themselves together quickly to achieve this goal.

Getting that early buy-in is imperative to ultimate success for this young team. Confidence is a powerful tool — eventually, a young team gets into the “too young to know better” category. And early confidence can be a backstop to halt long losing streaks.

The encouraging part of training camp and the first preseason game was to see how every player is pulling for each other. The early reports from camp suggested players are getting after each other in practice and encouraging each other well.

In the first preseason game, it was evident the team was proactively trying to create energy from the bench. Even late in the game, starters who had sat out the entire second half were standing to urge their teammates on to try to make a comeback.

Early in the season, it is easy to get that togetherness. When times get tough will be the question for whether this team can come together. And times indeed could get very tough to start the season. The schedule is unforgiving and the Magic will have to come together fast. That was evident when the schedule came out.

But, as losses pile up early in the season, slippage can become evident. Players can question whether things are really going on the right track. Wavering on principles taught in camp can come back to haunt a team and only further the decline.

Take last year. The Magic had a top five defense heading into December, but they were a lowly 10-12. Everyone felt uneasy about the team. The Magic defense collapsed from that point and the team lost 33 of its next 47 games (the time between consecutive wins for the Magic last season).

It was easy to see as the losing mounted for the Magic, they were letting go of the rope and getting frustrated with themselves and each other. The team seemed to lose what little chemistry they had gained.

Early success can go a long way to re-enforcing the team’s principles and chemistry. That is why early success is so important. And why the Magic have to come together quickly.

So far, it seems they are playing with a bit more urgency. They were frustrated by how last season went and want to make things better. They seem determined to make sure it does not happen again.

But they are also not racing ahead of themselves. They know they cannot skip steps in the process this time. The team cannot just add talent and instantly become a better team. They have to focus on the details every day in camp and apply those details every game, getting better each time, especially early in the season.

To get the most of that time, the Magic need to experience success. If the Magic truly do still have Playoff aspirations, that means getting things right quickly so the team knows its system works. Knowing that will help the team better weather the tough times.

The Magic have to avoid the death spiral that seemingly befalls the team at some point in December or January to knock them out of the Playoff race. To avoid that, the Magic need to believe in themselves and build their confidence early.

Next: Orlando Magic encouraged with first effort

That is what makes this moment for the Magic so critical. And why it is important for the team to catch on quickly in the preseason.