Orlando Magic must win on homestand ahead of tough December road

The Orlando Magic have a four-game homestand coming up that will prove vital. A tough December stretch looms that could define the rest of the season.

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford has expressed some of his disappointment already with his team’s home record in this early stage of the season. The Orlando Magic have a 3-5 record at the Amway Center, including blowout losses to the Charlotte Hornets and LA Clippers.

While the team’s 3-3 record on the road is admirable, Clifford and the team likely know that is not sustainable. It is hard to win on the road in the NBA. The typical thought — and this is usually true in any sports league — is to count on home wins and then make up the difference on the road.

Clifford knows as much as anyone that any chance for the team to find success this year lies in taking advantage of these opportunities. Especially considering the Magic will have two fewer home games this year with the trip to Mexico City in December.

And that is where the next week comes into play.

The Orlando Magic open a four-game homestand Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. They then face the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors. After that, the team’s schedule gets considerably tougher.

The Magic cannot look too far ahead. But on the horizon is a five-game, eight-day road trip to the West Coast that features games against the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers. Then comes a game against the Miami Heat in Miami after a few days home.

They follow that up with two games at home before traveling to Dallas to take on the Dallas Mavericks. Then comes the team’s “home” games in Mexico City on Dec. 13 against the Utah Jazz and Dec. 15 against the Chicago Bulls.

That is a stretch of 23 days from Nov. 23 to Dec. 15 where the Magic are home for a total of eight days. They play just two home games at the Amway Center in that stretch.

The team will also play only four teams that have a record worse than .500 right now in that 11-game stretch.

To say the least, the Magic will play a lot of road games against some very tough teams in a short stretch in December.

None of this is surprising. When the schedule came out, everyone pointed to this stretch of the schedule as one of the more difficult stretches the team would face this year. December would again become a defining time for the Magic — they went 3-12 in December last year essentially ending all their Playoff hopes.

That may very well happen again. Banking wins will become tough for the Magic. This stretch of the season will define the team’s season in a lot of ways and whether the Magic can stay in the Playoff race.

As things stand Tuesday, the Orlando Magic are tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the final spot in the Playoffs at 6-8. It is far too early to draw too many conclusions about the standings or even look at them.

But the team is in the race. They cannot win that race at this stage of the season, but they could certainly lose it. And this is the stretch where the team could lose its grip. How they respond here will be critical to the Magic’s season.

Not that a bad run through this part would end the season. A disastrous one would. Really the Magic need to stay in contact with the race for when they can pick up more home games when the schedule lightens up.

Orlando Magic

They still have to get there first. And that is where this four-game homestand comes in.

The Magic have to find a way to win their home games and defend the Amway Center floor better. There are just too few precious games on that court coming up. Gaining confidence at home is critical to the team keeping its nascent Playoff hopes alive.

The next four games are a critical first step and confidence booster before this difficult stretch.

The Magic themselves have to better at home to start with. Orlando has only a 101.0 offensive rating at home and a 109.5 defensive rating. Both are worse than their season marks so far. It is hard to see the Magic continuing to compete with those numbers still present.

And this homestand will not be easy. The 9-6 76ers have Joel Embiid playing at an All-Star level and are expected to debut Jimmy Butler when they come to town Wednesday. The 7-6 Lakers have LeBron James and are always a threat simply because of that even as they figure out how to play together. The 4-10 New York Knicks are the only losing team in this stretch. Because after the Orlando Magic face them, they take on the 12-2 Toronto Raptors, perhaps the best team in the Eastern Conference.

That path is not easy. And the only losing team the Magic face on their West Coast jaunt is the Phoenix Suns. And who knows what condition the team will be in when they hit Phoenix with the other teams they play on that trip.

But the Magic must find a way to bank up some wins now. This homestand has to be viewed as an opportunity to solidify themselves and get ready for the challenges that are surely ahead.

If anything, it needs to be an opportunity to gain some confidence at home to make up the deficit they might face with such a road-heavy schedule coming up.

The Magic are playing better basketball right now. Even their loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday seemed more borne out of execution than effort. Those problems seem to be behind them.

But the team is still coming together and searching for consistency. It is tougher to gain that consistency on the road. That might be what the team has to do.

They have to start with these next four games and get the most out of them. And most importantly wins.