The Orlando Magic followed their win against the best team in the league with a loss against one of the worst teams in the NBA, proving the Magic play down to their competition.
Here we go again.
The Orlando Magic dropped another loss to one the league’s worst teams, the 16-48 Cleveland Cavaliers who feature the still-recovering Kevin Love as their best player. And Love struggled with 16 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
This was the worst of the worst for the Magic as they have gone 3-3 since the All-Star Break with all three losses coming to the Eastern Conference’s three worst teams.
First, the Orlando Magic lost to the Chicago Bulls at home by one point when Aaron Gordon fouled Lauri Markkanen on the go-ahead 3-pointer.
Then two games later they lost to the New York Knicks by five. They followed that loss up with a stunning loss to the Cavaliers on Sunday night in Cleveland. They lost by 14 to arguably the worst team in the NBA. It was the Magic’s first loss by more than 10 points since Jan. 9.
These losses would not be so frustrating if they did not come on the heels of wins over the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. All sure playoff teams. The Magic seemingly turned a corner, and then they did not.
It seems as if the Magic tend to focus and lock into the best teams in the NBA but then play down to the competition against the worst. This is a major concern for the team in the midst of a Playoff race.
This is the same that defeated the Charlotte Hornets by 38 points as they won 127-89 at Amway on Feb. 14. The Magic knew how important a win against the Hornets would be that day, going into the All-Star Break a half-game behind them for the final Playoff spot.
Then, coming out of the All-Star Break, they lost to the lowly Bulls, a team that has not yet won twenty games. That game was full of miscues from the Magic as they gave up a strong comeback in the fourth quarter and a one-point lead with less than 10 seconds left on that Aaron Gordon foul.
Two days later they met the Raptors – one of the four favorites to make it out of the Eastern Conference — and beat them by 15 on the road. That was without Kawhi Leonard, but it was still an impressive win.
They followed up that impressive win with a humiliating loss to the Knicks inside of Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have yet to win fifteen games this year. New York held Orlando to just 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Continuing this roller coaster, the Magic defeated the Kevin Durant-less Warriors 103-96 at Amway Center. Orlando was actually trailing 81-70 heading into the fourth quarter and they held a Stephen Curry-led Golden State team to only 15 points in the fourth quarter.
There was plenty of work still to do, but the team was showing plenty of progress.
That was evident in Saturday’s win over the Pacers. Orlando again trailed but kept up with Indiana before Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier finished the game. It was a momentous win.
Or so we thought. Then came the loss to the Cavaliers. A 40-point fourth quarter and an uneven at best effort.
This seven-game run for the Magic around the All-Star Break has shown how up and down this team play. They quite painfully play to their competition.
The question then becomes why can’t a team that is fighting for its Playoff lives beat the bottom feeders of the NBA? Is it because they are young? Or is it because they have few players on the roster with credible Playoff experience?
Like LeBron James said after his Los Angeles Lakers could not seem to put a string of wins together, how can you know what you are fighting for if you never been?
The Magic only had a couple of players with Playoff experience. Most of the players have not even played meaningful games past the All-Star Break. D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross are the only other Magic players who have meaningful postseason experience. And their experience is limited as a contributing player.
This could be the reason the Magic take off nights against the worst teams in the league and then plays like future champions against the best teams. They do not have a leader with Playoff experience who can pull the troops together or carry the troops to victory.
Nikola Vucevic has played admirably since the All-Star Break. His 28 points kept the Magic afloat until the shooting barrage started in the fourth quarter against the Pacers. And his 27 points against the Cavaliers was about the only positive.
Certainly, the Magic need to find that second star who is going to consistently put in work like Nikola Vucevic. They need to find a more consistent approach and intensity to push through these struggles.
They need to play with the freedom and intensity they displayed against those Playoff contending teams.
The Orlando Magic have three teams that will not make the Playoffs coming up in the Dallas Mavericks on Friday at the Amway Center, Memphis Grizzlies on the road Sunday, the Washington Wizards in Washington, D.C. next Wednesday. Then they get another crack at the Cavaliers at Amway Center next Thursday.
If they lose to more than one of these teams then making the Playoff push will become even more difficult.
If the Magic do not find a way to focus on the teams that will not make the Playoffs then they will be one of the teams watching the Playoffs from the couch. These are opportunities they cannot squander anymore.