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Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live: Winning the rest of the way

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier celebrates after hitting a three-point shot against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images)
Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier celebrates after hitting a three-point shot against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic suffered another difficult loss and the team is not making any progress in building winning habits. And this should disappoint everyone.

The Orlando Magic were likely as bewildered as everyone else at the end of their game Saturday in Indianapolis.

Their 21-point lead was gone as momentum had turned against them quickly. Their 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter disappeared quickly as Victor Oladipo attacked again and again. Somehow Orlando regathered itself some. Enough to fight and give itself some chances to tie the game.

But Aaron Gordon left two points on the board. Missing both free throws to tie the game. Jonathon Simmons‘ look for three on the ensuing scramble was no good. The Magic could not salvage the victory against the Indiana Pacers.

All that was left was the disappointment of it all. The Magic again had given away a winnable game. Things were no closer to changing for this team.

The 2018 season will go down as another disastrous one for the Magic in this interminable rebuild. No one expected the Magic to do a ton of damage. But some signs of growth as a team and some change to the team’s culture seemed in order. The team’s early 8-4 start at least made it seem like change was coming.

Instead, it has been more of the same. More lost leads. More poor late-game execution. And more freezing up when adversity strikes.

The Magic will likely end up with one of the top picks in the upcoming draft. That might, at least, get the team an influx of talent. But that will not change the Magic’s fortunes alone.

Orlando will need much more than that to take the next step. And that is why winning remains important.

This Magic team will not win very much the rest of this season. They simply are not good enough — that 14-34 record is plenty proof. But when the opportunity to win comes, the expectation must remain to win.

Up 21 at any point in the game? That is a game the Magic should win.

Leading most of the way at home against a weakened opponent? That is a game the Magic should win.

Orlando lost two games in exactly that fashion earlier this week. Orlando has no excuses for those defeats. Not if the team truly wants to build and grow a winning culture for whatever is to come next.

That was the central point of discussion in this week’s Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live. As the calls and the shouts to tank continue to grow, winning still has its value and I explain why:

On This Episode

  • No one is delusional the Orlando Magic will make the Playoffs… but we know they can play better than they have been
  • A high draft pick will not matter if the locker room culture and expectations are not to win
  • A recap of the Orlando Magic’s loss to the Indiana Pacers
  • The problem with Elfrid Payton
  • Why we should still be rooting for the Orlando Magic to win still
  • Losing is not OK for any locker room… and holding the team to a standard
  • What questions we have for Frank Vogel and his job this year
  • Addressing the Adreian Payne situation
  • Analyzing your fake trades and how I approach trade rumors
  • Could the Boston Celtics chase after Nikola Vucevic again?
  • Who are the Orlando Magic looking for in a trade? And why an upcoming restricted free agent may not be their path.
  • Could the Orlando Magic mine something from the New Orleans Pelicans?

Next: Victor Oladipo shows Magic difference in winning

Be sure to join the Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live on our Facebook page every Sunday at 12 p.m. ET!  We will probably start a bit earlier this week because the Magic play Sunday afternoon. Also, subscribe to Orlando Magic Daily’s daily podcast, Locked On Magic, on Panoply, iTunes, Stitcher and TuneIn.