Orlando Magic feel ready to concede the season

The Orlando Magic put in a pitiful effort on the court after essentially calling it quits for the season. The team is ready to finish the 2018 year.

The game started with a tip-off as it always did. Except from the very beginning, the Orlando Magic seemingly had a different posture about them.

Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac were all out with injuries of varying degrees. It is clear that if the games mattered not only would all three of those players be playing, but Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross and Jonathon Simmons might be too. But the games have not mattered for a long time.

The absences in this game were the equivalent to how Bismack Biyombo treated the opening tip.

He stood there and let Dwight Howard win it.

Conceding the jump ball is a strategy that some teams employ. Some coaches prefer to give up that first possession and set up their defense. But that kind of concession was a sign of the way things were going to go.

The Charlotte Hornets were going to take whatever they wanted and the Magic were going to put up only minimal hindrance. That was how things went from the very beginning.

"“It is important to start the game strong,” coach Frank Vogel said. “We have had trouble with their starting five when we are at full strength. It was no different tonight. We just continue to ask guys to compete with no excuses. We don’t’ focus on who is out of the lineup. Guys who are in the lineup have to get the job done. We didn’t do that well enough tonight.”"

The result was predictable. An 137-100 Hornets win on the road at the Amway Center. A game that was never close. Where Charlotte led by as much as 45 points. The kind of embarrassing performance befitting a team truly tanking.

And after holding out pretty much their entire starting lineup, there is no other word to describe what the Magic did. They got their final two wins of the season, it would seem, and decided to pack up shop.

That might not be the way coach Frank Vogel or any of the players want to portray it publicly. But that is how the team actually played on the floor.

"“In a game like this we have to find a way to rally together, have fun as a team and compete at the highest level,” Wesley Iwundu said. “No matter the circumstances. We showed some good flashes out there this game. But we have to keep those flashes consistent. It’s just not happening right now.”"

It is unfair to say the players were not trying to win. At a certain basic level, they were. They were just not sharp and not able to make the second efforts a team needs to win the game.

These were not the habits the team wants to build. They are not the habits of winning teams.

Orlando Magic

It was late in the fourth quarter when coach Frank Vogel was pushing Wesley Iwundu to get back on defense. This in a 30-plus point game. Even the rookie had seemingly been willing to give up on the game.

Vogel was not to his credit, burning every single one of his timeouts to try to teach things the right way. The message just would not sink in and the Magic sank further into the hole. And an opportunity was lost seemingly before the game started.

"“There were just certain inexcusable plays that you can’t allow,” Vogel said. “Our four young guys got opportunities to play extended minutes and earn jobs and make a name for themselves. They didn’t take advantage of that opportunity tonight.”"

That remains the most confounding part. The Magic rested the players who seemingly have a place in this league and a bit more certain future. It was the Magic’s reserve players and G-League players who seemed unable to find the energy and the will to compete.

They were resting on their laurels as much as any player. It was their responsibility to finish their season. Many of them are indeed playing for future jobs. And they did not seem to have the urgency they would need to even sniff the lead.

It was an effort no one seemingly could be proud of. The kind of game where there is nothing anyone could draw from in the end. Just a wasted 48 minutes. Something the Magic cannot afford at this stage of the season.

If they are going to build themselves back up or build winning habits. This is the exact kind of game they cannot have.

"“It’s not the situation we normally are in,” Shelvin Mack said. “We’ve got to do a better job competing and not let the situation dictate your attitude and the things that you can control.”"

That is what the Magic have lost throughout this season. They have struggled to keep a grip on the things they can control. Their effort and energy has often lacked. But it has never been this bad. With the talent deficit the team had, there was little room to slack.

Instead, the bad habits that seemingly have infected this team continued to pop up. It was easy to give in.

The bottom line is the team has to try to build habits — whether they carry over or not. The franchise may be making some roster decisions and some rotation decisions that put it at a disadvantage but a basic expectation remains.

The team still has to play hard. The team still has to show up and try to win the games. The players have that responsibility. And the coach will still go to battle with what he has got.

That has always been the case even with the Magic far out of the playoffs.

"“Play the game with integrity,” Vogel said. “Every possession matters. Play the right way offensively. And every defensive possession matters. Coach them like it’s a tie score and challenge your guys with better integrity than we did tonight.”"

That basic expectation was not met. Not even close. And for the first time this year, the organization overtly seemed to tell its fans, go ahead and tune out.

Next: Grades: Charlotte Hornets 137, Orlando Magic 100

The season is over and has lost any sense of meaning for the future or the present. With three games remaining, Orlando has signaled it is done for the year.