Orlando Magic get reminder of how good they can be after Game 2 defeat

The world seemed like it was crashing down on the Orlando Magic after a rough loss. They spent their practice working and remember how good they can be.

In the locker room after the Orlando Magic clinched a playoff berth, coach Steve Clifford told his team to want more. They should celebrate making the playoffs, but this was not the end goal. They were in the field and now they needed to do damage.

There was blossoming confidence in that locker room. The Magic had gone on an incredible run and turned into one of the best teams in the entire league after the All-Star Break to get into the postseason. But Clifford still had to get them to believe more.

That momentum seemed to carry forward into the playoffs. On the road in many of these player’s first playoff game, the Orlando Magic stood toe to toe with the Toronto Raptors and took one on the road after D.J. Augustin‘s game-winning 3-pointer.

That somehow feels like a lifetime ago.

The Raptors struck back in Game 2 with a dominant 111-82 performance that was never really close. They staggered the Magic and shut out both their All-Star player and the entire offense. Orlando was playing catch up the entire way and never fully recovered.

The playoffs can make the wins feel like highest highs and the losses feel like the lowest lows. Every moment comes with a question for what it means for the series and beyond. Everything seems under scrutiny at every moment.

Nikola Vucevic said it plainly in Game 2. Their execution was not good, they committed careless turnovers (and Nikola Vucevic singled himself out for that one most of all), their spacing was not good. It was a total disaster for the team. The team, Vucevic said, was not ready to play for that playoff game.

That is something the team can certainly correct. At least the series is merely tied at one.

But, even at this moment, Clifford wanted to remind his team just how good they can be. He said they still do not realize their full potential. But if they are going to win Game 3, they have to get back to what they do best. And after such a thorough dismantling, that meant refocusing on the fundamentals of who they are.

"“We’ve got to respond if we want to win this series or even win the next game,” D.J. Augustin said. “They are going to be aggressive again with us. We’ve just got to be able to handle it and continue to play our game.”"

Clifford said the Magic spent their practice focusing on offensive force and energy. The team’s main struggles came on offense where the Raptors forced the Magic into a ton of mistakes. But Orlando did plenty on its own to help.

The coach said the team has to cut better, screen better and play with more energy to break the trapping and pressure the Raptors employed on them. These are the fundamentals and the differentiator in playoff basketball.

The reality is, Clifford said, the Magic had good spacing and were in the right spots in Game 1. They were able to find the outlet valves when the pressure built up — especially around Vucevic. In Game 2, Orlando was not in the right spots at all.

Sometimes fixes are that simple. It will still come down to executing and making plays and reads when the time calls for it.

Clifford would not agree with analysis the Raptors played any more physical in Game 2. But certainly, the Magic did not play with the precision and energy they would need to execute their sets against playoff physicality.

Against a strong defensive team like the Raptors, that little bit of hesitation is enough for them to exploit. Toronto is adept at forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. That kind of play feeds a lot of their offensive success. And Orlando played into those hands in Game 2.

Everyone recognizes they have to be better.

"“We beat ourself really,” Evan Fournier said. “They were more aggressive and they did a good job, don’t get me wrong. But we really beat ourselves as far as the spacing and moving the ball and bodies. We have to help each other.”"

To counteract this pressure, Augustin said the team needs to be aggressive and make the right play. They cannot get stuck doing isolation basketball and playing on their own.

The key to everything is to move the ball more and work a bit harder to get free. Screening and cutting harder are going to be paramount.

So too is getting Vucevic more involved in the offense.

Toronto has committed to eliminating his post-ups but Vucevic has struggled too with his reads. He owned that and said he has to be smarter with his decisions and reads. He knows how much attention he attracts and how important it is for him to make positive plays.

The Raptors played with a lot more energy and a lot more physicality seemingly from the tip. They put Orlando in a lot of uncomfortable positions and deflected passes and to disrupt the team’s rhythm. Orlando never truly found its offensive rhythm during the game — perhaps during the second quarter when Terrence Ross went on a scoring binge.

They have to find a way to keep the ball moving and get back to the team-based play that has led the team to its success.

It is no coincidence the Magic were a strong assist team during their playoff run but have now found it difficult to get the ball moving this postseason. Their 19 and 17 assists in the first two games are the lowest amounts the team has had since late December.

This Orlando team has always found a way to bounce back.

"“I told them today, I still don’t think we understand how good a team we can be when we play well,” Clifford said. “These last 30 games, it wasn’t like we had some easy schedule. Our guys have played very well both at home and on the road. I think they know when we do what we’re supposed to do, we have a way to play, we can play well. I’m not sure they give themselves enough credit for the team we have become.”"

The team knows it can play much better. That was the heart of the message entering Game 3. The team should not waver in its confidence but recommit to the work it will take to get back on top.