The Orlando Magic still searching for killer mentality, identity

It is only 10 games into the new NBA season, but there is something eerily similar about this year’s version of the Orlando Magic compared to previous versions.

Here we are again. Ten games into the new Orlando Magic season and the team sits at 4-6.

Realistically, that is not a bad mark. The Magic have played an incredibly tough schedule. They have rattled off two wins in a row for the first time this year — one over the vaunted San Antonio Spurs and the other on a comeback that seemed statistically impossible.

And yet, something about this team seems so eerily familiar.

I think Magic fans see it. And based on Evan Fournier‘s comments following the team’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, he sees it too, even after he just hit a game-winning shot:

"“We should have killed the game early, man,” Evan Fournier told FOX Sports Florida’s Dante Marchitelli after the game. “The mentality (of the team) myself included allowed them to get back into the game. We weren’t as locked in as we should have been. More than the X’s and O’s it’s just the mentality. We need to get after it, we need to have that killer mindset you know. We came out tonight with a win, but we should have done better.”"

It was certainly one of the most muted postgame celebrations following a game-winning shot anyone had ever hit. And Fournier was not in the mood for enjoying a win that was not up to the team’s high standards — especially since he struggled individually until that final make.

The Magic, have talked this talk for a few years now.

They have said, “We need to pull it together. We need to do better. We need to be locked in.” Yet, we come back to the same place time and time again. The Magic are frequently beat by small plays, hustle plays.

Even in Monday’s win, Tristan Thompson almost won the Cavaliers a game by himself because the Magic would not be physical with him and Thompson just decided to play hard. He had a robust 19 points and 16 rebounds. The Cavaliers veterans tortured the Magic throughout the game and especially in the second half.

Monday’s game was not the first game previous iterations of the Magic showed up either.

In their games versus the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic came out seeming like they believed they were going to get an easy win against a team that historically has not been very good. Additionally, the Kings were on the second night of a back to back, so the Magic should have been able to play with more energy.

They did not and they lost the game.

As recently as the game versus the Spurs, the team showed some of the same problems as previous years. The Magic had the Spurs dead to rights up 26 points in the fourth quarter. And yet, somehow, someway this team almost blew that lead. The Spurs cut it to six points before the Magic did enough to stay ahead.

Fournier said it plainly after Monday’s win. This is not about X’s and O’s. It is about not having the killer mentality. It is about failing to finish games and having the poise to win games late.

Now the question really is: How do the Magic grasp this killer mentality? What even is the killer mentality? Many Magic players likely believe the killer mentality is to rain down threes continually on their opponent’s heads when the lead is big. Or to isolate and score at will in a test of one-on-one greatness.

But that really is not all there is to the killer mentality.

Orlando Magic

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan may have unintentionally deluded entire generations of basketball players into believing that a killer mentality is about scoring. What is far less publicized about Bryant and Jordan was their incredible effort at nearly all times on any end of the court.

The Magic are not losing winnable games because nobody is assertive enough on offense. On the contrary, the Magic are more likely to lose games when one of their players thinks that it is time for them to fill the offensive role of Jordan or Bryant. The Magic lose games because their players don’t want to exert themselves making small plays.

Consistently, Magic players struggle to box out other players and rebound. Consistently, Magic players do not make the extra pass to their teammates. Consistently, Magic players struggle to run out to shooters when somebody makes a mistake in transition and cover for each other.

Those are all examples of lacking the killer mentality. It feels as though Magic players envision having a killer mentality as being assertive. Being assertive is part of it for sure, but the Magic seemingly have embraced this delusion that having a killer mentality equates to being offensively assertive.

The 2009 and 2010 Magic did not worry about who was taking the last shot. Those teams came into games saying they were going to shut a team down on defense and the shots and points will fall where they may. Dwight Howard certainly helps. But it did not matter who took the shots and it did not matter what the score was. The Magic were going to beat you up on defense and score points by trusting each other.

Monday’s improbable comeback win was not built on the Magic’s offensive prowess. It was built on those little things.

Aaron Gordon digging out an offensive rebound to get a tough shot to fall and make a play. An extra opportunity the Magic needed. Or Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross knocking the ball away from Kyle Korver to set up Evan Fournier’s game-tying free throws. Or Nikola Vucevic blocking George Hill‘s shot.

These small plays added up. They were all necessary for the win. if the Magic had played with that intensity and energy before the final minute, they might have won the game much easier.

That is the killer mentality.

There are some overlaps between identity and killer mentality. They are intimately related.

Like with most things, the Magic are still seeking this mentality and this identity. They are still searching for consistency to build these habits.

The Magic already have an identity. But one they need to shed.

Their identity is that of a team that can be beaten if another team puts them up against adversity. Other teams recognize that as their identity. It is something coach Steve Clifford is trying to change. He wants the Magic to be a team others want to avoid.

The Magic still have work to get there.

This group has all self-identified what is wrong with their team for years now. The Magic need to embrace a killer mentality and form a new identity. Monday’s win was both a step back in doing that and a step forward. They proved they have it in them for that brief moment.

But the only way for the Magic to do this is for their players to walk the talk instead of talking the talk. To this point, they have struggled to do so.