Orlando Magic still seeking consistency one year later

The Orlando Magic were the talk of the league one year ago after a blazing start before falling apart. Many of the same questions linger at the same point.

On November 11, 2017, the Orlando Magic were riding high.

Sitting at 8-4, they were the talk of the league and one of its biggest surprises. They had scored a road blowout win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, a home blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs. They played a then-marquee game against equally surprising Memphis Grizzlies and held their own in a defensive slugfest with the Boston Celtics without their top two point guards.

Nikola Vucevic was draining 3-pointers at a high rate. Aaron Gordon looked like an All-Star. The team looked together and having fun. It felt like the team indeed had turned a corner. Magic fans had a reason to be excited.

They headed out West perhaps feeling they were about to return to Earth. Their shooting was unsustainable. And the point guard play left a lot to be desired, even with Elfrid Payton returning from injury.

But there was still plenty of reason to believe at that time the Magic would make a push for the Playoffs. They were sixth in offensive rating (109.0 points per 100 possessions) and 12th in defensive rating (103.8 points allowed per 100 possessions). Their +5.2 net rating was the fourth best in the league.

All signs indicated the Magic would remain a good team even as the offense began to come back to its mean. And in the Eastern Conference that was enough.

Of course, that is not how things happened.

After defeating the Phoenix Suns to open the road trip, the Orlando Magic laid an egg against the Denver Nuggets. Much of their energy got sapped out of them when Jonathan Isaac landed on a Nuggets player’s foot and sprained his ankle. He was virtually lost for the entire season.

Orlando began a nine-game losing streak and the season was quickly lost. Even in that game the Magic won to break that streak, the team lost Terrence Ross to a fractured leg for virtually the rest of the season. There was no recovery and the Magic won just 17 of their final 61 games, firing their coach in the end.

So here the Magic sit a year later.

They did not get off to the hot start they did last year. Optimism is not flowing from the opening tip. There is a general fear that not much has really changed and that this is another cursed year.

That is not the case, of course. But the Magic have not really shown signs of growth the last six years. With largely the same roster returning, it is fair to wonder where improvement will come from.

And the first set of games has not helped dispel that notion.

Inconsistency characterized the first 12 games for the Magic this year. Their attention to detail and focus has not been present as they get used to Steve Clifford’s philosophies and approach to the game. Not to mention how he expects to help his team reach its full potential.

The team after Sunday’s win over the New York Knicks has started to establish some form of an identity. The offense has climbed out of the league’s basement, scoring 102.9 points per 100 possessions (still 28th in the league, but not as abysmally bad as it was a few weeks ago). And the team’s defense is now sitting at 107.3 points allowed per 100 possessions, 14th in the league.

The team’s -4.4 net rating ties it with the Houston Rockets. Still in the bottom 10 for the league, but trending up.

It is not like any of this is setting the league on fire. This is still a team trying to figure itself out. And it is still a team settled in near the bottom of the league statistically — even if their current 6-7 record has them nestled in eighth in the Eastern Conference.

It is still too early to draw too many conclusions from statistics. The team is still forming its identity and has a lot to develop and grow.

At this turning point from last season, at least, the Magic are still finding their way. They are suffering many of the same problems they did at the end of last year. They are still searching for what they can do better each game and what — and who — they can rely on each night.

It will not be a straight line process.

Through some of the early season struggles and losses for the 2019 season, plenty of fans have asked themselves what has truly changed about this roster? What is really different about the way the Magic were playing?

These are all fair questions for a team still searching for its identity.

That was always the purpose of this season. Whatever wins and in-season accolades the team can accomplish will go toward achieving this purpose. The Magic this year are trying to lay a foundation for their future success. They are trying to establish the kind of culture they want to become as they develop and grow.

Orlando Magic

Consistency is what can you do without thinking? Even on your worst days, consistency means you can rely on something to work always.

That is the tricky part for this team. Every time it seemed like they were about to hit that mark, they faltered and fell apart.

That is what happened last year. Their success was built on unsustainable shooting and then injuries gutted them. It is too hard to tell what impact injuries had, but it might be fair to say the team was due for a hard fall regardless.

So what does this year hold? That is still to be written.

Through the same 13 games last year’s team experienced so much success, this year’s team is experiencing cautious growth. Clifford has long said his goal is to have the team playing its best basketball at the end of the season. He wants the team to get progressively better.

That might well be the case to this point. But there is still a long way to go.

And so, like last year, the Magic are seeking consistency. There is a positive vibe around this group having won four of the past five games. But everyone knows there are difficult days ahead.

A West Coast road trip looms after Thanksgiving. That will be a true test for this team’s mettle and a test of its consistency. Will they step up to the challenge and grow or struggle and fall? Can they recover when they struggle once again and recommit themselves?

These are all the same questions left from last year. And these are the questions the team has left unanswered as the season has hit its rhythm.