Orlando Magic’s leaders must provide the answers for frustrating start

The Orlando Magic struggled in all facets in Friday’s loss. Their leaders most of all have to set the example and the plate for the team to turn it around.

Aaron Gordon worked hard to get to his spot. He slid over and took the hit on Giannis Antetokounmpo. Immediately his hands went over his head and he started yelling at the official as the whistle blew for his second foul.

It did not take long for the Orlando Magic forward to pick up his first technical foul of the season. The team seemed up for the challenge early of playing Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. They staked an early 13-point lead with their offense humming like it has not hummed at any point this season.

This little slip — a superstar call, perhaps — had the chance to derail things. Aaron Gordon was going to fight at this moment for everything.

The rope though was already getting let go. Gordon picked up his second foul at that moment and the Magic had to break their lineup. The hot shooting was never going to last. Neither was the Bucks’ silence. Not with the looks they were getting and missing.

In the course of the previous two minutes and the next seven minutes of game action, the Bucks would outscore the Magic 32-7. Orlando’s lead was gone, replaced with an equally large deficit.

The Bucks got out in transition. They scored from beyond the arc. The two things the Magic had to do to get stops — the two things the Magic emphasized before the game — they got routed in. And that was unacceptable for this team.

Coach Steve Clifford spelled it out plainly, the team’s leaders have to be better and set the example.

"“The people most responsible for how hard a team plays every night is the head coach and the best players,” Clifford said after Friday’s game. “That how the NBA works. Nobody else. . . . It was an unacceptable effort against a great team, and they played well. I’m going to say it again. Nobody is more responsible than me and the best players. That’s the way the NBA works. So hopefully we will all do better starting with me tomorrow and the best players, and we’ll see if we can do better.”"

The numbers do not need to be repeated, but they really say it all for this team.

Orlando gave up 50.5-percent shooting, 17 3-pointers 11 offensive rebounds, 27 points off 16 turnovers, 36 fast-break points (to Orlando’s two). All those add up to a blowout loss.

But watching the game painted an uglier picture. The Magic were caught flat-footed in transition, watching the ball run past them as they struggled to get back. Their poor shot selection had a lot to do with that as Orlando failed to move the ball effectively for much of the night.

But Milwaukee was parading to the rim well before then. Orlando was never set.

The Bucks’ defense crowded the Magic all night too, forcing mistakes and an unsure team into their traps. They were able to crowd the paint and force the Magic to pass through traffic. Orlando has not been a clean passing team this season anyway. The Bucks’ defensive scheme only heightened this weakness.

The Magic simply could not get a rhythm.

"“We just didn’t follow through all the way,” Terrence Ross said after Friday’s game. “We were doing a little bit of that in the first and it kind of deteriorated over the course of the game. We’ve got to do a better job sustaining and understanding how to make our teamwork to the best of our abilities. We got away from that a little bit.”"

That moment of frustration Gordon expressed then would only multiply with each turnover, each missed shot and each fast-break point given up.

Orlando was in a hole. It feels like the Magic have been in a hole all season, fighting uphill through the grit of their defense as they try to build some offensive rhythm. This time the hole was too deep.

The Magic were searching for answers and they found none anywhere.

"“We just played soft, they got whatever they wanted,” Gordon said after Friday’s game. “At the end of the day, the coaching staff can give us a game plan that’s going to put us in a position to win the game. But as players, we have to go out there and execute. We’ve got to go out there and win. We didn’t do that.”"

Least of all from their star players for much of the night.

Evan Fournier had a nice scoring night with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting. He could at least hit an outside shot. But he had four turnovers and made poor decisions passing through traffic. That only fed Milwaukee’s fast break.

Gordon had another icy night. He finished with 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting. He struggled to get his rhythm, only showing glimpses of his offensive burst. But far too often he was overdribbling trying to create a shot, putting his teammates in tough positions to bail him out.

Nikola Vucevic had a quiet 14 points and seven rebounds, making 6 of his 12 shots. He was not the one to force the team into ball movement as the team tried to push its way through the Bucks’ crowding defense.

All three though did not help the Magic set the tone defensively. Their inability to get going offensively only made matters worse throughout the night. And they could not help the team turn the tide by example.

"“You’ve got to do the things that we need to do as a team,” Nikola Vucevic said after Friday’s game. “If you do them, you can talk to the other guys. I think all of us just didn’t do the job we needed to do. First, you have to lead by examples, then you can talk to the other guys.”"

Orlando had some little signs of life throughout the game. Little stretches of life. But the hole was too big and the Bucks re-asserted control much stronger than before. The frustration was written on everyone’s face with each turnover, missed shot and mistake.

Everyone was trying to get the Magic out of it. Perhaps trying a bit too hard. And that was affecting their effort defensively. They were never tied together on either end, letting go of the rope for the first time this season.

The Magic’s difficulties are all self-inflicted at this point. Getting back in transition is about effort and attention to detail. As is the ability to read the defensive coverages and keeping the ball moving.

Gordon was right then, the Magic were “soft” Friday night. They allowed the Bucks to dictate the game to them and change their attitude. That has happened too much this season offensively, but it never completely unraveled the team like this.

This is not who this team is, or who it believes it is.

"“I know how hard this team works,” Gordon said after Friday’s game. “I know how many hard workers we have on this team. We’re going to come in tomorrow and we’re going to get it right.”"

Orlando will need to stick to its gameplan and follow its leaders — with the team leaders actually executing the gameplan and making plays — to have a chance.