Players continue to be in and out of the lineup for the Orlando Magic. But after a strong effort Tuesday, they know the focus must remain.
The Orlando Magic seem pulled in far too many directions these days.
Tuesday night they got Jonathan Isaac and Evan Fournier back from injury. Now they are seeing both those players — plus Aaron Gordon — possibly out of the lineup again. Coach Frank Vogel said Jonathan Isaac aggravated his sprained ankle and will sit out Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. Both Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon will be game-time decisions after their nagging injuries continue to bother them.
It is not that any of these three players are expected to miss extended time. All three could be back in the lineup full time any game. But the frustration of not having their best players in place remains a constant battle for the Magic.
And the schedule keeps coming at them, not caring about these situations. Orlando has to go to battle with the players on the roster.
The results without the team’s best players have been fairly predictable, of course. The team has struggled ever since Jonathan Isaac’s initial injury on Nov. 11. And as more players have gone down, the team has fallen further and further into a hole. The Magic are now in their second nine-game losing streak of the season and have lost 20 of their last 23 games.
"“I think these times test your ability to get better and your ability and desire to win,” Bismack Biyombo said. “How much you are working to improve. For us, at the end of the day, we are going through tough times but we are all being challenged. We are all facing adversity. Some people will handle it well. At the end of the day, it’s just a matter of how much better you can get to help the team win. That’s the only thing you can control in this situation.”"
There have been some players who have stepped up their game.
Frank Vogel noted Mario Hezonja‘s improvement specifically and his growing confidence has been noticeable. Mario Hezonja is averaging 16.2 points per game and shooting 49.2 percent from the floor with a 58.5 percent effective field goal percentage in his last five games.
Some of that is pure opportunity — plus an outlier in his 28-point performance the last time the Magic played the Pistons — and some of it is Hezonja clearly becoming more comfortable on the floor.
And Bismack Biyombo stepped in as a starter Tuesday and played a strong game. His minutes increase helped him become more active on the glass. His five blocked shots helped get the team off to a better start.
Orlando is certainly still missing its best players on the floor. There has been too much inconsistency around the roster as it stands now. The Magic have had to make up too much of a deficit — especially with their perimeter shooting, where the team has struggled more and more this year.
But Tuesday provided some hope for the team.
A little bit of normalcy from having Fournier back in the lineup. He came out on fire with 12 of his 14 points in the first half. Fatigue certainly set in as he faded into the background and made turnovers and mistakes in the second half.
But overall, the takeaway from the Orlando Magic’s loss to the Miami Heat was a positive one. The team felt it played with good energy on both ends. Playing the way they played in the first three quarters gave them a chance to win the game.
That fourth quarter looms pretty large. Even with Vogel saying the team deserved a better result, the Magic certainly need to maintain a strict focus to compete and give themselves a chance to win these games.
That has been something that has eluded the team.
"“We played extremely hard,” Vogel said. “I was proud of our effort in that game. I was disappointed for them that they weren’t rewarded with a victory because the effort was there. That’s how we got to play. When you have guys out and you are trying to reinvent yourself with a key guy like Vuc being out, the effort has to be at a really high level. That’s where I expect it to be tonight.”"
By this point, the Magic are used to being down key players. They have played for nearly a month without their full starting lineup intact. And the injuries have continually piled up for them.
The intensity has waned at times and the results have followed. The Magic are still trying to get their footing again. Getting players back will help, but will also require an adjustment.
The team played better and re-energized Tuesday in Miami, but the results remained the same.
"“More than anything it is just trying to win a ballgame at the end of the day,” Biyombo said. “We can talk about all these other things. As long as we don’t win the game, I don’t think it matters. My job and my goal is to help my team win the ball game. The game tonight is a great challenge for all of us.”"
Next: Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag: 2018 will be our year, promise
The games do not stop for anyone. And the Magic are trying to regroup and refocus once again with an uncertain lineup day to day.