Orlando Magic hunting for “Playoff mentality”

The Orlando Magic have largely never been through the fires of a Playoff race. They know the pressure is ramping up and their season stands in the balance.

The Orlando Magic have had to do a lot of soul-searching throughout the season. This whole year seemed like a final reprieve for this group with another new coach and new management biding their time to sink their hands into this roster.

It has been one of the not-so-secret parts of this season. Expectations were low and so the surprising part was actually staying in the Playoff race and making these decisions harder.

The Magic are closer to the Playoffs than they have ever been since Dwight Howard left the team in 2012. And so these are new experiences and new challenges for the team.

They have hit some major lows and found a way to bounce back. There have been no massive losing streaks that sink the entire season.

But time creeps forward and the team’s decision point creeps closer. The pressure is only growing and growing.

After Saturday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Orlando Magic and their team leaders seemed to reach a breaking point. They had gone weeks saying they needed to put wins together to stay in the race. And struggled to do that, bouncing back enough to stay afloat.

There is only so long a team can do that. And the Magic seemed to have reached that point.

Nikola Vucevic reportedly gave an impassioned speech following the 118-108 loss the conference-leading Bucks. He told the media after the game that every game now is a  Game 7 and the team’s margin for error was gone.

The pressure is not something the team is hiding from. The question has always been whether the team can perform under that pressure.

The Orlando Magic overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, putting together some strong defense to pull away at the end and keep Atlanta from ever really threatening them. Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce called it one of the worst performances from his team for the entire season.

It was a win but a momentary relief. The road is not going to get any easier. The run-up to the trade deadline in the next seven games will feature just two teams outside of the Playoffs.

The pressure remains very high. Evan Fournier told the media in Atlanta when asked about Nikola Vucevic’s impassioned speech after Saturday’s loss that they know this season has a Playoffs-or-bust feel for this group. The franchise is likely to move on from them if this continues not to work.

The difficult part for this team is not verbalizing this notion. But putting it into action.

That might be the greatest unknown from this team at this point. Except for Terrence Ross and Jonathon Simmons, no player has really played meaningful games this deep into the season. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier made the Playoffs but were largely outside the rotation.

The Magic are in uncharted territory.

Their struggles this year have come from playing consistently at a Playoff level, following the path coach Steve Clifford has set out for the team.

"“The good teams do that 82 times,” Clifford said. “That’s been my point all year. A team with where we are at with the talent base, you have to play well 82 times. I think that has been the point since the opening meeting all the way through. It’s hard to disagree with.”"

The numbers bear this inconsistency out.

In wins, the Magic have a 112.1 offensive rating in wins and a 101.5 defensive rating. The team’s +10.6 net rating in wins is still extremely solid (still 19th in the league).

In losses, the Magic have a 100.7 offensive rating and 114.4 defensive rating. There is a ton of inconsistency then on both sides of the ball.

The team’s defense especially has been the biggest inconsistency with the team. Clearly, when the defense plays well, it can lift even the Magic’s poor offense. The difference between winning and losing is on that end.

This is always the most difficult thing for a young team to understand. Especially one going through the winning process for the first time.

Orlando is having to lock in now more than ever.

The seven games before the trade deadline are against tough competition. Of those teams, only the Washington Wizards and Minnesota Timberwolves are outside the Playoffs right now. The Wizards are a mere two games out of the final Playoff spot as are the Timberwolves.

Orlando is going to have the chance before the trade deadline to put themselves squarely in the Playoff race. They will have their chance to defeat some of the teams they are chasing and gain separation from the pack. Or even get into it.

Fournier said before Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets the team needs a Playoff mentality now. They have to be able to compete with and beat these teams they are bunched up with in the standings. Otherwise, they will lose contact with the group and that will lead to the uncomfortable decisions set for Feb. 7.

This kind of focus and intensity is the same thing Clifford has been preaching all year.

For sure, the pressure is increasing on the Magic. Their season gets determined in the next seven games before the trade deadline. The front office has to know what it is going to do and make sure it can take advantage of the assets it has. They have to map their future.

But they also recognize this is a franchise desperate and hungry for some form of success. They are not going to take making the Playoffs lightly. That opportunity is too big to pass up.

To get there, the Magic have to sharpen their focus and play with an intensity and precision they have not played with before in their collective careers.

They seem to know that pressure is ramping up. Now the team sees how they respond and if they can rise to the challenge.