Orlando Magic’s New Year’s Resolution is to find consistency of detail

The Orlando Magic have put themselves in a good position to close the 2018 calendar year. In 2019, they must find consistency to achieve their goals.

The Orlando Magic had the Charlotte Hornets right where they wanted them in one moment.

Kemba Walker came around a screen and saw Jonathan Isaac in his space, forcing him to slow down and take an extra dribble. It gave Jerian Grant enough time to recover and get around the screen as the defense shifted behind them to cover. And the Magic had blown the play up.

The next time down the court, the Hornets tried attacking Nikola Vucevic. But Nikola Vucevic had pushed up the extra half step. Close enough to make Walker think twice about pulling the trigger on the shot but far enough to invite him into the short corner where the Magic could trap and corral him.

In another possession, the Magic set the right angles and got beat, forcing a scramble behind. Aaron Gordon rotated down to defend the paint and keep the ball from getting outside. As the ball kicked back out to the perimeter the team scrambled and covered for each other.

This is how the Magic defense needs to work. They were brief glimpses of what the team can be at its peak. When the attention to detail is strong and they cover and recover from mistakes quickly.

This was simply not how the Magic played for the majority of their 125-100 loss to the Hornets.

Too often, it was Jerian Grant getting stuck on a screen and leaving Nikola Vucevic on an island to handle Kemba Walker. Or it was Vucevic sitting back too far, giving Walker the head start he needs to get to the basket or the space to pull up for three. Or it was Jonathan Isaac not setting his angle sharp enough to blow up the pick and roll.

They were not the only three players with defensive mistakes throughout the game. But it was all a symptom of a team that showed the potential to be a strong team capable of winning any game but also the ability to lose.

As the calendar turns for the Magic to 2019, their resolution is clear.

If they want to make the Playoffs, they must find their consistency every night. They must have that attention to detail — that “organization,” as coach Steve Clifford often calls it — every night if they want to achieve their goals.

And that main goal — making the Playoffs — is squarely in sight as the season’s midpoint approaches.

Clifford has sung this refrain over and over again. When the team is focused in on the gameplan and playing to it, they can beat anybody. But if they are not, their margin for error is so small that they are liable to get blown out.

Blown out as they did against the Hornets — trailing by as much as 35 points.

That last figure has unfortunately been too common for the team and a big reason why there remains heavy doubt.

As if to drive that point home, it came after two largely brilliant games from the Magic. Games where the Magic were on point with their defense for most of the night and kept their offense in constant motion and movement.

The Orlando Magic’s 29-point win over the Toronto Raptors was one of the best, most complete games the team has played all season. The team locked down defensively with Aaron Gordon masterfully defending Kawhi Leonard after his early burst.

Things carried over against the Detroit Pistons in a two-point win. While the Magic’s defense was not as sharp or crisp, their ball movement offensive was solid and they came up with the plays to win the game — the Pistons needing a late rally to tie the game.

The dichotomy of these two games — and the four-game losing skid that preceded it — shows the two faces of this Magic team.

It would also suggest that a lot of the team’s issues are self-inflicted. The Magic are not going to beat every team even when they are at their best.

If the Magic want to make the Playoffs, these kinds of blowouts where the team looks completely out of sync have to become rarer and rarer. Games like Monday’s loss are still too common.

The team is certainly still looking for a firmer identity. The Magic are 27th in offensive rating and 15th in defensive rating. Their -4.2 net rating is 24th in the league, but a long way behind the Pistons for 23rd. This is a middling team struggling to find offense consistently with a defense that at times can dominate and change a game but is just as likely to go through long stretches of frustration and struggle.

It is an improvement over last year, for sure. But the team still has to get the results to back up that improvement. Winning is ultimately all that matters.

It still feels like the Magic do not know which team will show up on a night-to-night basis.

For now, the Magic have done their job to limit losing streaks. After this long road trip ends, the schedule lightens up (at least statistically) and that could put them in a position to find their groove and bank up some wins.

But as Clifford constantly reminds the media and the team, the Magic are not a group that can show up and beat even the worst teams in the league simply by showing up. They have to put the work in and play the right way.

That is by defending together with intensity and physicality. That is by moving the ball and moving players on offense to break the defense down without a true dribble penetrator or perimeter scorer. And that is by paying attention to the gameplan and trusting and integrating their preparation.

These are all things the Magic are still getting down pat. And for the calendar year 2019 (or at least the rest of this season) this is what the Magic must resolve to do if they want to achieve their goals.