Orlando Magic seeing the fruits of growth, as things start to come together

In countless losses, coach Frank Vogel has talked about the team’s development and growth. Finally, it appears it is coming together and making an impact.

Coach Frank Vogel has been Sisyphus rolling the boulder up a hill most of the year.

Naturally positive, some of the frustration and disappointment in how this season is written on his face at times. He wants to push his team to a higher level and has continued on that grind. The team has seemingly fallen short, going in fits and starts. And, most importantly and disappointingly, failing to win in that time.

It is a tough thing to believe so much in a group and to see them struggle to put everything together. The only thing to do is to keep working.

Even at the depths of the losing streak, Vogel kept up his positive outlook. He expressed his belief things would turn the corner soon. He told anyone who would listen that young players for the team were getting better. They just were not translating to wins yet.

Vogel kept the faith.

As he sat down at the podium following the Orlando Magic’s 111-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, he expressed the same message. He was proud of the team for their effort and their fight. The team, he said, was doing everything asked of them.

This was a familiar message. The kind of moral victory talk that gave him and the more optimistic fans a little something to hold onto and believe in.

Except this time, these did not seem like empty words. This time it seems like they are finally producing and creating something tangible. They were getting the rewards for their hard work.

And so this time in defeat, it was not just about the team doing all those things. It was about the momentum they were clearly building. He was not seeking something to believe in, he was reinforcing things were moving in the right direction.

Most importantly for this team and its future, he was proud of the way young players developed. He singled out Wesley Iwundu, Khem Birch and several other players. But none more than Mario Hezonja.

Following Mario Hezonja’s team-high 23 points and 8-for-16 shooting, it is hard not to see just how much Hezonja has grown in such a short time. Fans are decrying the team’s decision to decline his team option seeing in Hezonja a player who is now extremely useful.

The Magic are indeed bearing some of the fruits of this development. Things finally clicking into place for a team that has struggled for much of the year.

Orlando lost Saturday to snap a three-game win streak. But the Magic have won four of their last six games too. For a team that is 18-37, that is not an insignificant run of play. The Magic are competing and winning games again.

They can point to the way their young players have finally stepped up in the face of all these injuries.

Hezonja is the shining example.

His offensive game and development are natural to see. He is shooting confidently — 41.9 percent from beyond the arc in his last 10 games. His drives are measured and within the offense. He is not making the reckless forays into the lane. His turnovers are way down now.

Hezonja may not be the future star everyone projected when the Magic took him with the fifth overall pick three years ago. But he is no longer the barely useful player who struggled through last season — thinking about his 29.9 percent 3-point shooting is cringe-worthy.

The Magic put in a lot of work with Hezonja to improve his game in almost every way. That goes from helping him improve his shooting, supporting his offseason rehab from a knee injury and putting him through finishing drills so he can take contact better and finish at the basket.

The team has also tried to help him improve his defense. That was always the thing keeping him from playing. No one will confuse Hezonja for a strong defender — Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 32 points on the Magic on Saturday — but he is better than anyone could have expected.

Vogel commented specifically about some of the challenges he was making and the way he was taking mid-air collisions better. Hezonja was not doing that earlier in the season.

Nor was he driving the ball under control. The game has indeed slowed down for Hezonja. Undoubtedly this is a product of receiving more playing time just as much as it is the work Hezonja did behind the scenes.

Things have all come together for him. Without that work behind the scenes to improve, he would not be prepared for this opportunity. Hezonja’s career has taken a complete 180.

And so has the Magic’s play of late.

The Magic have seen similar growth from Wesley Iwundu and Khem Birch, two rookies who have seen their playing time grow as the season has gone on. Both have made their own contributions to the team. Contributions that they were not prepared to make at the beginning of the season.

Vogel said Iwundu has been one of the Magic’s most consistent defenders. A high compliment for a rookie.

Orlando Magic

At various times since entering the rotation, Birch has found himself guarding the opponent’s best player. And standing up to him.

In one possession against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Khem Birch stonewalled LeBron James on a drive following a switch on the perimeter. Vogel tried using Birch as the primary defender on Antetokounmpo for a stretch in Saturday’s game.

It had mixed results, but that faith is earned and not freely given. He never looked out of place.

All this has combined into a team that is playing its best basketball since mid-November. A season that was completely lost has found something of a silver lining.

Vogel will now have a difficult decision to make as his team slowly gets healthier again. Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac are due back — likely shortly after the All-Star Break. Terrence Ross will follow them perhaps in March.

All four of those key rotation players will play again this year. And that will push out some of the minutes these developing players have worked so hard for. The dynamics of the team will inevitably change. And transition will create inconsistency.

These are ultimately good problems to have. Having multiple options to play that a coach can trust is a good thing. Especially if the coach feels he can win with all these options.

Orlando has had to refocus itself on player development this year. Perhaps making up for lost time.

The development and growth from these young players are the fruits of all that hard work. It is, perhaps, a promising sign for what this team may become as players move on and Jeff Weltman remakes the roster. It is also a promising sign for the short term (if wins are truly the goal).

Orlando has started to turn things around. Vogel’s statements of his team’s improvement and constant development are not mere platitudes anymore.

Next: Grades: Milwaukee Bucks 111, Orlando Magic 104

They are producing actual results.