The moment is coming where Orlando Magic have to decide their fate

Another blowout loss has the Orlando Magic lamenting the team’s inconsistency. It is getting to the point where the Magic must shed these issues.

As Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford addressed the media following his team’s 120-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he revealed what one of his assistants told him after the first timeout. The Magic were already in a bit of a hole and it was clear what direction this game was headed without some immediate changes.

Clifford said they knew fairly early on the team did not have the right defensive mindset or approach. A 19-point lead in the first half is largely irrelevant. In the NBA, those kinds of comebacks are commonplace.

With the way the Magic were playing, the Timberwolves quickly erased that deficit and took the lead by double digits.

Orlando never was able to track Minnesota back. The team just did not have the right defensive approach.

And then came the common refrains from Clifford in the postgame.

This is not a team that can show up and win games, they do not have the depth of talent to survive consistent mistakes or lack of focus. The team has a way it needs to play and the difference between playing that way and not is the difference between winning and losing. Maybe even losing badly.

Orlando has made plenty of progress. But these frustrating moments still come every once in a while. And it raises some big questions about the team’s future and direction once again. That is what every loss — every big loss — does with this team.

Yes, the Magic have experienced as much success as they have experienced in their six-year rebuild. And yes, they are doing that at just 17-21, one game out of the final Playoff spot. Success is certainly relative. But the team feels how close it is to the race and is playing under that pressure for largely the first time.

Yet, those ghosts from year’s past still creep in. The team’s defense will loosen up — Nikola Vucevic perhaps taking a half step back and not showing hard enough on screen and rolls, for instance — and the offense will slow to a crawl as the team is unable to get the ball moving or into the paint.

As the Magic seem to get reminded often, the difference between competing for a Playoff spot — even in the watered-down Eastern Conference — and being one of the worst teams in the league. Orlando can certainly look like both.

The team recognizes this, of course. Evan Fournier told Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel the team did not come out ready to play defensively and the starters played “selfishly.” Those are all not good signs. But at least they recognize the problem.

The issue remains that games where Clifford and the players have to make these pronouncements while the team gets blown out still happen far too often. Orlando has lost nine games this season by 20 or more points. Five have happened since Dec. 1. That does not feel like a team that is making surefire progress to stay in a competitive playoff race.

This is still an occurrence that happens far too often. It is the team’s inconsistency at its zenith. These are the kind of games that stick with a fan base and a team that has not had a lot of success.

To Orlando’s credit, they have recovered well from these defeats. They are still in the Playoff race after all after fading in December in earlier seasons. But there is still a long road ahead. And these reminders have to be heeded.

The Magic are now at a point of the season where they have to decide what kind of team they want to be. The nights where they have inconsistent effort and attention to detail remain far too frequent for a team with the goals they have. The Eastern Conference can only be so forgiving.

But eventually, it will pass them by if they are not careful and attentive. The Magic, to stay in this race, have to play to their potential and at least avoid these pitfalls and bad habits that arise every so often.

It takes a lot to shed some of that bad history. Old habits die hard.

The Magic have largely worked their way through them. They have recognized when they happen and never let them fester. That is a sign of growth.

But this is a team still learning how to win. Their approach and their attention to detail are not consistent yet. And that inconsistency has come to define the season.

Orlando absolutely has the potential to make a Playoff run. The team is absolutely good and talented enough to sneak into the Playoffs and achieve their goals.

But they absolutely know — or should know — how quickly that can fall apart if they let go of the rope even for a moment. As Clifford says, this is not the kind of team that can just show up and win without committing to their principles.

That message has likely been drilled into them time and time again. The question is always whether they will heed it and take it to heart without the constant reminder.

It is getting to the point of the season where these messages should not be required. If the Magic are serious about their Playoff hunt, then this should be one of the last times Orlando has to hear this message about committing to their style of play.