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Orlando Magic’s inconsistent play will make them lose their Playoff chance

By Spencer R. Henderson

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Lauri Markkanen #24 of the Chicago Bulls shoots the ball against the Orlando Magic on February 22, 2019 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Lauri Markkanen #24 of the Chicago Bulls shoots the ball against the Orlando Magic on February 22, 2019 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic’s losses against the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks have wounded the fan base’s psyche and could deal a big blow to the team’s Playoff hopes.

Will the real Orlando Magic team step up?

Seriously? First it was the Chicago Bulls. This team didn’t have Michael Jordan. It did not even have Derrick Rose. This was the young, rebuilding version that has just 17 wins on the year and holds the fourth-worst record in the league.

Lauri Markkanen outshined his draft colleague Jonathan Isaac by a large margin when it was Isaac’s team that is contention to make a Playoff push.

Markkanen poured in 25 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Bulls, tearing up the third quarter to stake Chicago control of the game.

Jonathan Isaac finished the game with only four points, and three rebounds in 31 minutes of play. His lack of aggression is puzzling sometimes considering he was a lottery pick in 2017. Especially considering how well Isaac has played since that Feb. 9 trip to play the Milwaukee Bucks.

Although the Magic only lost that game by only one point — on a pair of free throws from Lauri Markkanen after Aaron Gordon committed a lack-of-focus foul — this team cannot continue to lose against the worst teams in the NBA.

The Bulls are in the running for the top Lottery odds with the fourth-worst record in the league. The fact the Magic split their season series with them is a stain. One of several stains the team has of bad losses throughout the season.

Another one of those other stains came Tuesday against the New York Knicks. Spike Lee might have proclaimed at the Oscars the team is tanking, but that did not stop the Knicks from picking up their second straight win by outlasting the Magic at Madison Square Garden.

The Magic would be in the driver’s seat for a Playoff berth right now if they would have taken care of business. Instead, the team enters one of the toughest stretches of its remaining schedule because they simply could not take care of business.

In such a tight Playoff race, every game matters. These are lost opportunities.

Will we look back on these two games and say that these were the two games that eliminated the Magic from the 2019 NBA Playoffs? Will this become the beginning of the end?

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson straight punked the Magic in the interior as he scored 17 points and snatched 14 rebounds in 33 minutes of game action. Robinson added six blocks for good measure, scaring the Magic out of the paint for most of the night.

Allonzo Trier scored 18 points in 21 minutes. The 6-foot-5 rookie shooting guard played well and showed the Magic no team can take nights off the NBA. Records do not matter.

Even more confusing and frustrating, this came after the Magic beat the second best team in the Eastern Conference on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

The team admitted afterward that in Sunday’s game they did everything right and what they needed to win. On Tuesday, they all recognized they did not. The stark difference between right and wrong and how this team played in these two games was a portrait of this team’s inconsistency.

They also said what many fans feel. This is a very unacceptable loss for a team that is in the Playoff run and is trying desperately to make a push.

The Magic are playing for something but the average person would not be able to tell if they watched these two games against the bottom of the NBA. Orlando plays to its opponents far too often and still struggles to play winning basketball consistently.

The loss Tuesday does not end the Magic’s Playoff hopes. The Charlotte Hornets’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday brought the Orlando Magic back to within a half-game of the final Playoff spot. If Orlando would have gotten these two wins over Lottery-bound teams, it might have been able to build some cushion and a lead for that spot.

Too often the Magic are not looking like the Playoff team they need to be.

These are the games that really show what type of team they are. These teams have to show the focus to beat the teams that do not have much to play for. They have to take care of business.

If the Magic do not approach each individual game with the right focus and intensity, they very well could find themselves on the outside looking in and pondering their squandered chances.

The last thing they want to do is to fool themselves into believing that they can take nights off against the bottom feeders of the NBA.

This team has never been to the Playoffs before, so to think they are a lock to make the postseason is very premature. They have never even been in contention for a Playoff spot like they are now. And they are truly feeling that pressure grow with every game.

So that alone is pressure. Pressure to achieve something they have not achieved before.

Next. Orlando Magic still walking narrow path for victories. dark

The last thing this team should do is let it slip through its fingers. These past two losses certainly suggest the Magic might.