Orlando Magic’s leaders must set better tone for Playoff race

The Orlando Magic are in a rut and losing ground in the Playoff race. Their leaders know they have to be better. It is the tone they set that needs change.

Aaron Gordon is quiet and contemplative after games.

For a 23-year-old, he watches his words carefully and can be very perceptive to what is going on with the team on a deeper level. It is clear he conceptually understands what it will take for him to help his team get to that next level.

Evan Fournier‘s approach after games is a little different.

He is fiery, speaking clearly and full-throated about what is wrong with the team and where the team needs to improve. He offers no apology and points the blame at himself as much as anyone else. Really he is not placing blame anywhere, but speaking as a team and what the team collectively has to do.

Nikola Vucevic is a bit more understated.

He has a dry sense of humor generally and can pepper his responses with a joke when he is in a good mood — typically after wins. But he is honest in his assessment of himself and his team. He does hold back on his team either.

The passion and energy that Evan Fournier brings is not quite there with Nikola Vucevic. He is somewhere between the poles of Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon in addressing the media to assess what the magic must do to get out of their rut.

After the Orlando Magic’s 100-90 loss to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Wednesday, Fournier said the issue plainly. The Magic treated the game like it was Game 42 — some random mid-January game that carried no immediate importance. Orlando was slow out of the gate and did not have the right energy or urgency. Certainly not to match a team fighting for its Playoff life.

Gordon was more intricate with his analysis. He said the team could not solve the puzzle of the Wizards’ defense and struggled to get good shots consistently. But most importantly, the Magic had a lack of energy and the Wizards brought the energy from the start.

Vucevic turned to the team’s late-game execution and defense. Again the offense went cold down the stretch and the team gave up and-1s as the team’s defense continued its struggles from much of the game.

It was a poor performance in almost any way the Magic could cut. Coach Steve Clifford said he did not really need to see the tape to know his team did not play well and did not bring the right energy and focus to the game. He would point out more on how the bench dropped the ball from the starters and dug the team a big hole.

All three of these breakdowns of the loss are correct. This team has never been poor at diagnosing its own problems.

But until recently, it has never had any issue fixing them either. This Magic team has had a penchant for bouncing back and staying in the fight, giving itself a chance to win. That method is falling shorter and shorter.

Responsibility on the starters

Responsibility for fixing the issue starts with the team’s leaders first and foremost. They set the example for the entire team and their energy and approach trickles down.

Vucevic’s consistency is a steady drumbeat for the team and a safety valve. Fournier has struggled to shoot consistently, but his passion and energy help the team offensively. When he gets the ball moving, the rest of the team follows. And Gordon’s energy and aggressiveness under control get the team in an attacking mindset.

As Orlando has lost four of the last five games, it feels like the team has lost that foundation, particularly early in games. The team is coming out of the gate without that aggressiveness and assertiveness.

Considering how small the team’s margin for error is, this slip hurts the team. Putting the team in an early hole makes it harder for the bench to recuperate and only makes things harder for the Magic overall. The example these players set trickles down to the rest of the team.

The Magic have not had many problems getting out to good starts this year. The team’s starting lineup of D.J. Augustin, Evan Fournier, Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic has a +4.1 net rating for the year (107.0 offensive rating/102.9 defensive rating). The Magic have a solid starting lineup.

In the first quarter, that same lineup has a +14.0 net rating (110.2 offensive rating/96.2 defensive rating). It is a group that gets the team off to good starts. That helps them limit their bench struggles and frustrations.

But the Magic have lost four of the last five games. And those five games have seen a dramatic change in the starting lineup’s effectiveness early in games.

Orlando’s starting lineup has a -9.2 net rating (104.6 offensive rating/113.8 defensive rating) in the last five games in the first quarter. It sets the Magic back seriously. And sets a poor tone for the game.

Gordon brought it up best after Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He did not bring the right energy early in the game and that set a bad tone for the rest of the contest. The Magic there were chasing once again.

That is not a state the Magic can be in. Their margin for error is too small and their late-game struggles too much. And that tone the starters set in the first quarter trickles down to everyone else. It is hard for this bench to carry the starters very far.

Setting the tone

More than that it is the leaders who set the tone. Everything else the team will follow from them. They take their direction from their heartbeat and their leaders. When the team is struggling, it is these players who have to commit most to the team’s principles and habits. And when these players fall short, it trickles down to everyone else.

At the Magic’s best, the starters provide a solid baseline and that energy transfers to the reserves — who do their best to keep it up but probably cannot be out there for too long. This is a team that relies heavily on its starters to lead the way.

Right now the team’s leaders are struggling to set the tone. They are more than capable of doing so. But they are young leaders still finding their way in these pressure situations.

But it starts at the beginning with the example they set and the tone they set early on. The Magic are not getting their start right now and it falls on their team leaders to set the tone.

They continue to say the right things. This leadership group understands the task ahead of it. But it is not turning that into action consistently that is the problem and is keeping the team from realizing its Playoff dreams.