Orlando Magic Daily
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2019 Orlando Magic: Five questions for the third quarter of the season

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on November 18, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on November 18, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee, WI – APRIL 9: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 9, 2018 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic enter the third quarter of their season with plenty to play for but plenty to fix. The trade deadline and a season on an edge loom.

The Orlando Magic were always a bit understated with their hopes for the season. There were few talks of going to the Playoffs. Expectations were a bit low.

Anything was possible of course. Coach Steve Clifford would often say that no team should put a limit on what they can achieve. And so the Magic were not going to say one thing or another was the goal. The season would play out and the team would do what it could and see where the chips fell.

It is hard to say at the midpoint of the season the Magic have played exceptionally well. Their 17-24 record tells only part of that story.

Entering Thursday’s games, Orlando was 26th in the league in net rating with a -4.3 net rating. That is the worst of the teams that have even the faintest idea of making the Playoffs.

The Magic have one of the worst offenses in the league. And some of the offensive efforts have been disheartening — the team has failed to hit 40 percent of their shots in the last three games. The team’s defense is sitting right in the middle of the pack. The Magic at least are making gains on that end.

But this is not the profile of a team that will make the Playoffs. Yet, the Eastern Conference is forgiving. And, even with the team’s poor record, they are sitting 2.5 games outside of the final Playoff spot. It is well within reach.

For the first time since the 2016 season, and one of the few times since this rebuild began, the Magic are playing meaningful games past the midway point of the season. The games still matter and there is still a prize to play for at the end of the year.

But like the 2016 season, the team is fading at this midpoint of the season. In that year, Orlando was one game under .500 and one game out of the final Playoff spot but in the middle of what would be an eight-game losing streak.

The Magic this year have lost 12 of their last 17 games — going 7-13 in the second quarter of the season — and are now in a four-game losing streak. That losing streak has seen the team lose leads of 15 or more points in three of those games.

Clifford is right to say those leads in the first half are a bit overrated, but he is wrong to think this inability to close out games early is insignificant.

Preseason expectations might be exceeded with this record. But the team is not on a track to accomplish its goals.

The next 20-or-so games will prove to be vital for the team this year and beyond. The trade deadline comes up on Feb. 7. By the time the third quarter of the season ends, the Magic will either be in the Playoff race for good, pushing some chips to the center of the table, or playing for something else.

Management has its own questions to answer as much as the team does in the next 20 games. For once, we might finally get some concrete answers.