The Orlando Magic have their longest win streak in three seasons and no one is celebrating. There is still work to do to achieve their goals.
Jonathan Isaac got the ball on the wing on the Orlando Magic’s second possession and fired without thinking. It missed but that was the kind of shot the Magic want him and need him to take and make.
For the second-year forward who is essentially a rookie, the Magic want him to build confidence. Process over results and the like. The confidence to shoot and willingness to be a threat is vital to the Magic finding any chance of success.
He would get his chance the next time around.
On the following possession, Jonathan Isaac came around a screen and got the ball at the same exact spot. He fired away and. . . missed. Not the start he wanted. The New Orleans Pelicans took an early lead as the teams sought to get some rhythm.
Last year or even earlier this year, Isaac might have passed up the next shot or gotten passive. He may not have been willing to let fly after two straight misses like that. His teammates may not even have fed him the ball the next time, opting to shoot themselves. The trust was not there.
Things have changed quickly. A team that has become used to losing might have succumbed to those instincts. They may not have trusted their stuff and fallen deeper into that pit.
What happened next was a reward for the faith the team continues to put in him.
Isaac got the ball a third time beyond the arc, this time in the corner. The Pelicans were laying off him and daring him to beat them from the outside. Jonathan Isaac waited for a beat and gave Anthony Davis a hard pump fake. Davis bit and Isaac drove around him finishing at the rim.
That was the start of the best quarter of Isaac’s career. He scored 16 of his 20 points in that quarter, finishing the first quarter 5 for 10 with 2-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
That set a tone for the entire game. Not because the Magic completely blew up the Pelicans’ defensive strategy by having their weakest link lead the team in scoring. It was because the Magic faced a little bit of adversity and just pushed through it like it did not matter.
The Magic’s 118-88 victory over the Pelicans was a dismantling of a team going through its own off-court issues.
There have been plenty of times where the Magic might have overlooked this game or allowed the Pelicans to stay in it. Instead, Orlando dominated from start to finish, leading by 22 after one quarter. They led by as much as 27 in the first half and then by 31 in the second.
New Orleans never made a push. Orlando never let them.
The win was the Magic’s fourth in a row, the first four-game win streak since December 2015. It was the Magic’s sixth win in the last seven games, enough to push the team 1.5 games back of the final Playoff spot as the All-Star Break creeps closer. Orlando is now just a mere three games behind the sixth seed.
The win marked just the ninth road win by more than 30 points and the first since January 2009, when the Orlando Magic set a record with 23 3-point makes against the Sacramento Kings. It also marked the first sweep of a road trip of more than three games since that Eastern Conference championship season in 2009.
And, to put a bow on top of how well the Magic are playing, it marked the first time in franchise history the Magic won three straight road games by more than 16 points.
The most impressive part of it all? Nobody in the Magic locker room seemed impressed by any of this.
.@EvanFourmizz recaps the road trip and says the @OrlandoMagic are playing with "purpose" after winning 6 of their last 7.#PureMagic #NBA pic.twitter.com/QxiG6SG6n4
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) February 13, 2019
Evan Fournier really said it best. There is no reason to celebrate quite yet. These wins have been nice, but they are only necessary for the larger goal. And that larger goal is still out there.
Orlando still has 1.5 games and two teams to climb to get into the Playoff pole position. Winning is something that is expected. A win streak is not something to revel in and relax with, it is the reward for hard work but part of the equation. And nothing feels better than to win again.
That was a similar sentiment Aaron Gordon mentioned.
The difference he said for the team right now is its execution. But he was the first to remind everyone not to get too hyped or proud of their accomplishments so far. Quite simply, they have not accomplished anything yet.
The Magic’s captains — Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon — have always had a mild-mannered temperament. They embodied the never-too-high, never-too-low mentality often espoused in the NBA. The only thing missing was the stakes to play for.
This time around, the Magic have plenty to play for. It is everything the team has wanted. They are not taking it for granted or losing sight of the big goal. The act of competing for something is not the end goal. The Playoffs are.
This road trip could have given the Magic plenty of chances to celebrate their meager accomplishments. Orlando has done some things this group has never done before. And with the All-Star Break coming up, there is always that fear a team will relax.
But that is not what this team is doing. They know there success is fragile and their path to victory remains narrow — despite how incredibly well they are playing.
Coach Steve Clifford said after the game he is extremely proud of the way his team is playing. He seemed to be the one with the rosiest picture for his group. And it is hard to argue that this is indeed the best the team is playing.
But the players all seem to have the right approach. They all seem to understand this is a step in the process and there is still work to do.
Like those early failures from Isaac, they are not letting momentary setbacks or successes put them off the focus they need to win games.
The Magic are keeping their heads about them and not celebrating these moments until their job is done.