Orlando Magic have to know who they are and get back to defense

The Orlando Magic built their playoff push on defense. In recent games, their defense has slipped at the absolute worst time in the playoff push.

The Orlando Magic were hanging onto the lead by a thread. That is what they might have always expected when they went up against the Toronto Raptors, the second-best team in the East and a likely playoff opponent if the Orlando Magic can get in.

The Raptors are a high-powered offensive team and have a run in them. They are strong defensively and that is not the Magic’s forte. The Magic would have to hold the boat steady.

In three previous games between the two teams, Orlando had done a good job holding Toronto down. Their defense has become the team’s identity. Statistically, it is what they are elite at and what has propelled them into the playoff race.

Even 77 games into the season, it is still shocking how quickly the whole thing can collapse. It is still shocking how the Magic can turn from one of the strongest defensive teams in the league into one that struggles to do the basic things.

Or maybe the elite teams the Magic are starting to face are probing for ways to beat them in the playoffs. Or maybe this is an untimely downturn for the Magic. It is still an 82-game season with swings up and downs.

Whatever the cause, the Magic’s offense can only keep up so much. And when Orlando does not bring defensive intensity, things can get ugly in a hurry.

Despite how much Orlando has improved and how far the team has come, the margin for error is still small.

Coach Steve Clifford said it best after the game. The Magic have to remember who they are. they have to remember what has made them a success and put them in position to make the playoffs.

Then they have to execute.

Monday’s 121-109 loss to the Raptors was not some aberration. Not completely. It was a continuing trend of the team struggling defensively. And they play with fire when their defense is not on point.

This Magic team cannot afford to give up offensive rebounds and then compound that mistake as they did when Kawhi Leonard ripped a board away from Aaron Gordon to find Marc Gasol open for three. Nikola Vucevic‘s challenge was way late and Marc Gasol drained the three to give the Raptors a sudden four-point lead.

That was part of a 17-2 run to end the first half that put Toronto firmly in the lead. Orlando never recovered.

Throughout the third quarter, the Raptors eviscerated the Magic, ending up with 17 3-pointers in the game including seven from Danny Green. The typically strong passing the Magic display was on display from the Raptors as they recorded 31 assists on 42 field goals.

Clifford said the Magic will not score 115 points in very many games. This is something the team got away with throughout the road trip in wins against the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. But the losses to the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors seem far more instructive.

This is not winning basketball for this group.

And with the team needing to make up ground, they are losing opportunities to make the playoffs with every game they have to figure out how to right the ship. This is not the time for messages to fall on deaf ears.

Orlando gave up 122.2 points per 100 possessions in the loss to Toronto. That would not be concerning if it were an isolated incident.

Unfortunately, the problems that plagued the Magic in Monday’s loss are part of a growing and concerning trend.

Monday’s game was the third straight game the Magic gave up more than 120 points per 100 possessions. They gave up 120.8 to the Pacers in Saturday’s win and 125.0 to the Pistons last week.

It is the first time the team gave up more than 120 points per 100 possessions in three consecutive games all year — they have given up that much only 11 times this season. It was the first time the team gave up more than 110 points per 100 possessions in three consecutive games since early March.

These are rare occurrences indeed for this team. And it is not winning basketball for the Magic.

Orlando has built itself up as one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Magic’s 107.2 defensive rating is ninth in the league. Since the All-Star Break, the Magic’s 107.0 defensive rating is fifth in the league. The team has the fourth-best defensive rating in the league since Jan. 9, when the team returned home from that West Coast road trip and began to turn the season around.

Orlando has used defense to power this trip up the standings and into the playoff race. The Magic are a defensive team. It is what they base their success on.

And if they want to make the playoffs and gain that half game in these final four games, they will need to rely on their defense.

There are ups and downs in a season. There are moments of focus and moments where the team is searching for energy. The Magic are going through one of those downturns at the worst time when the pressure is at its highest.

Right now, results matter more than process. If the Magic can win games like they did Saturday against the Pacers, it does not matter how they get there.

But Orlando knows the odds are in the team’s favor if it plays defense at the level it can play defense. That is what has kept almost every game close since early January and given the Magic this chance to make the playoffs.

The most concerning thing for Orlando is how much the defense has slipped.

True, the Orlando Magic buckled down on defense in the second halves against the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat to score big wins last week. They have the capability still to play suffocating defense.

That is what they will need to make their final push to get into the playoffs. They have to get back to who they are and what they do best.