Facing injuries again, energy is a must for Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are again undermanned. For the team to find success, questioning which team is playing the hardest cannot occur.

The Orlando Magic have not been whole since November. They may never be whole again this year. Players just do not seem to be able to stay healthy at the same time. As the Magic bring one player back, another goes down. Things just do not have much permanence.

That was the case Friday night in Sacramento.

Evan Fournier sprained his MCL in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. A freak injury that happened when he took a bad step and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rolled on him the wrong way. Evan Fournier is hopeful he will play again this year.

Aaron Gordon collided with Julius Randle at some point in the second half. He was no worse for the wear, but it appeared he suffered some concussion-like symptoms afterward. The team placed him in the concussion protocol.

The Magic were down their two best players. The schedule does not care and asked the Magic to take the floor Friday night. The next man would have to step up.

The results were not exactly predictable. The Magic are playing better than they were through December when injuries kept piling on. But the margin of error for the team remained dangerously thin.

Against another injury-riddled team like the Sacramento Kings — similarly situated at a disappointing 20-45 entering the game — things were going to be a bit rocky. Both teams were throwing out entirely new starting lineups and rotations. Injuries could not be an excuse.

The stark difference between the way the Kings and the Magic looked showed a stark and frustrating difference between the two teams.

Outside of Jonathon Simmons, who else was willing to put everything on the line for this win? Who else was willing to step up?

Jonathon Simmons put in one of his best games in a Magic uniform. He scored 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting, making seven of his nine free throws. Long criticized for dominating the ball too much and trying to drive wildly, the Magic needed him to do that. He delivered and stepped up into that role.

Simmons darted through the Sacramento Kings’ defense and put pressure on their perimeter defenders. He took the ball and drove with purpose, determined to get to the basket. That energy stood out in a game where the Magic seemed completely out of sync.

It is the exact way the Magic need to play with all of their injuries. It took a long time for a lot of the players to catch on.

The Kings? They had that the whole game.

What Sacramento lacked in talent in their 94-88 win at Golden 1 Center on Friday, they made up for in grit and determination. Kosta Koufos rolled to the rim and mixed things up on the glass. Frank Mason got to the basket and became a factor on the offensive glass. Garrett Temple again got hot and loose from the defense to score 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Vince Carter got hot too with his own array of drives and open jumpers.

Neither team was good enough to pull away. But once the Kings got a 16-point lead in the third quarter, they were never really challenged. The teams played even the rest of the way. Orlando could not find its reserves.

Coach Frank Vogel praised his team’s effort after the game still. Perhaps he was trying to keep his team’s spirits up. He recognized there were a lot of odd lineups on the floor and players getting used to playing with each other.

Still, it was hard not to watch the game and feel the Magic were constantly trying to respond and react. They were never the aggressors in the game. The Kings are not much better than the Magic. Sacramento never seemed to let that affect their effort or their ability to execute. Orlando just seemed stuck in the mud, unable to execute or work together.

If the Magic played with good energy Friday night, then they will still need a little bit more. Or they need to put it all together in a more positive direction.

Undoubtedly, the Magic need more. The Kings are one of the worst teams in the league and it still looked like the Magic did not quite belong on the floor. They were not able to match their energy.

Sacramento may not have talent, but the team had a directed effort. The team made the plays necessary and never let poor plays change that effort.

Orlando constantly got stuck offensively and seemed to succumb to turnovers. The Magic tried playing through Nikola Vucevic, but he did not play with the energy that could take his team to the other level.

Nikola Vucevic tends to be a player who sits back and lets plays develop in front of him. That works when there are other players to take up the aggressive slack. It will not work with this current lineup. The Magic need him willing to attack and they need to run the offense through him.

During Friday’s game, Orlando never had anyone that was able to attack and get the ball moving. Only Simmons was able to do it successfully.

The Magic will need more of those efforts from Simmons. And then other players to match that effort too. Orlando has to make up the gap that comes with losing so many key players.

It is going to be messy and it is going to be sloppy at times. No one is asking the team to be perfect. But effort and energetic play can make up for a lot of those talent gaps.

A problem for the Magic throughout the last few years, Orlando has not always played with the urgency and desperation as if it had nothing to lose. The Magic played like a team at times that could just show up and win.

That is not the case. Not anymore. Really, not ever.

For the Magic to get anything out of these games with the injuries they are facing, they have always needed energy. A consistent driving force. A belief that they can play above their class.

Next: Grades: Sacramento Kings 94, Orlando Magic 88

Orlando is going to need a lot more than what they showed against a moribund Kings team to survive this stretch. There will be losses for sure. But playing with that effort — a positive effort — will go a long way to making the most of these games.