Moral victories are meaningless if the Orlando Magic never learn from them

The Orlando Magic came out of their loss to the Washington Wizards seemingly taking a moral victory. But that is meaningless if they never learn.

The Orlando Magic are a bad team. Everyone seems to recognize that reality. Climbing out of this rut in the long term will probably take some major roster changes. In the short term, it will take a series of baby steps — playing better from game to game until there is finally that breakthrough.

No one wants to hear this — least of all the players and probably even the coaches. They are in this game to win. While that process is difficult and something the Magic have not done in a long while — losing streak is at seven and counting — there are always those little signs a breakthrough is coming.

Coach Frank Vogel has to do what he can to keep spirits up, emphasize the positive and find a way to get his team to push through. Giving in and giving up is certainly not the way to go. He cannot give up on his team — no matter how long the odds are to gain any kind of real success. Right now, success is getting a win. Worry about the second win after that.

That first win is proving extremely elusive. And so the Magic try to find a way to keep themselves relevant and confident. They too are trying to give themselves hope.

They give in to that greatest of sin. . . the moral victory.

When things are as bleak as they have been for the Magic, the moral victory is not a bad idea. Everyone has to find a reason to wake up in the morning. They need something to fight for. And when the results are not coming it can be difficult to find progress.

Moral victories are, by their nature, made up. And for a team that has shown in a brief moment that it can play at a high level, it is not enough. Losing a game close or having a momentary offensive burst is not going to change the reality for this team. Losses all count the same.

The only way a moral victory has any value is if the team actually learns lessons from them and they become the momentum everyone hopes for. Momentum is the next day’s pitcher. And the moral victory is only valuable with the win that follows.

The tact the Orlando Magic took following their 125-119 loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday suggested they were willing to take a moral victory, or at least consider it.

Vogel lauded his team’s effort, lamenting they were unable to get the stops they needed down the stretch, but giving all the credit to the Wizards for beating them and playing really well offensively.

He said he liked the team’s effort and energy throughout the game. They played with the pass — 32 assists on 41 field goal makes and 51.2 percent shooting. There were a lot of positives Vogel could take from the game.

Orlando Magic

Except for the loss. The Magic did not get that final reward.

There was a bit of delusion in this. The Magic did not play good defense except for short stretches.

The Wizards shot 56.8 percent and dropped 125 points on the Magic. They grabbed 14 offensive rebounds — so when the Magic did get a stop, they gave up a second chance opportunity. Washington scored 72 points in the paint. That all came out to a 123.3 offensive rating.

Washington got whatever it wanted offensively most of the night. Whether that was Bradley Beal hitting mid-range jumpers or John Wall getting all the way to the basket. The Magic were not good at that end. Finding a silver lining on defense requires a ton of squinting.

But Vogel did that, lauding the defense on several occasions. And it played well in some moments — enough to keep the game close at the end of the fourth quarter.

The offense had plenty of moments of clarity. The team has struggled to score consistently in this stretch and to see the team move and share the ball like they did Friday was a good sign. Aaron Gordon was seemingly going out of his way to make plays for others, a sort of penance for forcing things too much in his previous outing.

Of course, Aaron Gordon reverted back to those ways in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, forcing drives and trying to shoot through traffic. His 4-for-15 shooting performance was a sign of some of his struggles on the offensive end. He missed all six of his shots in the fourth quarter, including a blocked run-out layup that would have put the Magic down three.

It is easy to see the slippery slope of these moral victories. Holding onto the positive ignores the reality of defeat.

So the question for the Magic then is what do they do with all of this? Is this game Friday a flash in the pan?

Was this their missed opportunity when they seemingly put everything together? Was this just a wasted opportunity?

Will the Magic respond to the loss with more lifeless efforts, succumbing to the hopelessness of their situation?

The questions coming off a hopeful performance like this is merely in the response. Will the Magic respond to their strong play and take that next step to win?

That has been the question that has haunted this team since mid-November. The Magic have not been able to take that next step. Every seeming moral victory has been followed by more of the same.

So if there is skepticism after yet another strong performance it is warranted.

The coaching staff has to put on that brave face for now. They have to find the positives and emphasize it. Hoping investing in the positive will generate the results they need. They are not completely deluded about their situation.

Investing in moral victories is an illusion though. Orlando now has to turn that into something.

Next: Grades: Washington Wizards 125, Orlando Magic 119

Without learning lessons from these losses, the Magic are just lying to themselves.