Orlando Magic still discovering who they really are

The Orlando Magic could look at the schedule and see their Mexico City trip as a moment to reflect. But it is still unclear who this team is.

There are certain points in the schedule that stand as inflection points for observers. A moment to take some small stock of where the team is and who it is becoming. These moments are the measuring sticks for the season.

They usually come in familiar tropes — the first long road trip out West or otherwise, the big homestand, the stretches where games bunch up together. Every season, each team can point to the schedule and find these moments they must simply survive.

As the Orlando Magic complete this stretch of the schedule and reach this inflection point, they are in new territory. The team is in the Playoff race firmly — even competing for the division lead. Yet, this is still a team trying to develop its identity and some consistency.

We still do not know who this Magic team is quite yet.

The first West Coast road trip for the Magic — usually taking place in early December — is the first time we learn a lot about the team. They are away from home taking on usually difficult teams. It is a long road trip where the team is forced to band together one way or another.

The team came away from that six-game road trip 3-3. They lost big leads on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. All the while they put together solid victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.

This year brought a new wrinkle. The Magic spent 17 of the last 23 days on the road — playing seven road games plus the team’s two games in Mexico City. It was easy to point to this part of the schedule even in August and September and say this would be a telling part of the Magic’s schedule.

Orlando went 5-6 during this stretch. The team is currently tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with the Charlotte Hornets, having started this stretch at 9-9 in a tie for seventh with the Boston Celtics.

For this team, to finish that stretch keeping its head above water certainly suggests the team could be in the Playoff chase for the long haul.

Then again, the Magic are still in a stretch where they have lost seven of their last 12 games. And that includes the two-game win streak in Mexico City.

The team’s statistical profile, as Garrett Townsend of Orlando Pinstriped Post revealed, still does not have the look of a Playoff team. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

Entering Sunday’s games, the Magic ranked 27th in offensive rating, scoring 104.5 points per 100 possessions. They are also 13th in the league in defensive rating, giving up 107.4 points per 100 possessions.

The defense is getting closer to where coach Steve Clifford wants the team for sure. The team’s last two defensive efforts — giving up 92.8 points per 100 possessions — certainly were a bright spot.

As expected too, the Magic’s offense has had its strong moments and its weak moments. It is the most inconsistent part of the Magic’s attack.

Those are the numbers but watching the team still tells a different story.

It tells the story of a team that is still learning how to win and still figuring out who it is.

The first 29 games have been a lesson in all of this. The Magic have seen themselves build big leads only to struggle to hold onto them. They have seen their offense flourish just as much as it has struggled.

This is a team that has the resiliency to bounce back and stay in games it is otherwise struggling in, but also the penchant for giving into frustration and going stone cold, lacking the attention to detail they need to win.

In other words, it feels like the Magic have done plenty to make everyone believe with a solid 14-15 record at this point. But they are a team that does not have a true calling card quite yet.

Nikola Vucevic has established himself as an All-Star candidate. His shooting and offensive game are finally matched with a solid defensive effort. His passing creating a unique way to attack.

Terrence Ross is a flamethrower off the bench, hitting shots seemingly at will against second units and translating that into big moments in the fourth quarter. Aaron Gordon has re-established himself as a strong defender in addition to his growing offensive game.

But even that is inconsistent. Like Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier has the potential to be a strong offensive player but has found himself struggling to keep his shot down.

Inconsistency seems to win the day for this team more than anything else.

Orlando is deep enough into the season to know what it needs to do to win on a consistent basis. Yet, the thing that has defined this team so far is its inconsistency in executing those things. Clifford has had to go up to the podium after games and address the media with the same message calling his team out time and time again.

The team has in one moment gotten everything their coach wants them to do and executed it with precision. And then in the next, they come out flat like they forgot that secret formula.

Orlando Magic

Maybe that suggests a fall is coming if the Magic do not find some level of consistency soon. It sometimes feels like as much as things feel like they have changed for Orlando it still feels like things are the same.

Perhaps then there is one thing Orlando has tried to do that has taken some firm root, even if it is not felt completely throughout the franchise. The one part of the identity that has changed.

Orlando is changing its culture. There is a new feeling around the franchise and the players on the roster that things will not just fall out. That it can fight back.

Clifford certainly is not going to let that happen by sheer force of will. He is holding the team far more accountable publicly for its performance than any coach the Magic have had during this rebuild. He is demanding as much expectation from the fans as he is from the team.

So is Orlando keeping its head above water or still in a bit of a rut waiting for the fall?

Give the team credit for gutting out two wins in a difficult environment in Mexico City after a three-game losing streak. That ability to recover is vital to a team trying to eke into the Playoffs.

That is as much a part of this team’s culture change as much as anything. It is the ability to keep fighting back and find a way.

It has not sunk in fully yet. That might be the biggest lesson of the games so far. And it is not clear yet if it has sunk in deeply.

At this inflection point, then, it is clear there is still a lot to learn about this team.

They have shown plenty of promise, only raising the expectations for the rest of the season. In that way, the Magic have truly changed.

Maybe what is the clearest is there is still a lot to learn about this group. And if they are serious about their Playoff push. . . then the team’s next stretch of five home games in the next six will tell us how serious the Magic are.