5 questions the Orlando Magic face in the second quarter of the 2021 season
Will homecourt advantage matter?
The Orlando Magic’s playoff hopes are certainly slipping away. The team has lost 11 of its last 13 games and are looking disorganized and lost. The team is squandering key opportunities.
The schedule makers front-loaded the Magic’s schedule with advantageous games. Everyone should be wringing their hands and concerned over the second half of the season — the yet-unreleased part of the schedule). On paper, it is not going to be easy.
The Magic knew before the season they had to get off to a good start, survive the middle road trip in January and then feast on wins in the second quarter of the season.
Why? The Magic are playing 12 of their 18 games at the Amway Center.
If Orlando is going to make a playoff push, the team has to take advantage of its (sparse) home crowd and the fact being at home allows them to get some extra practice time and comfort in routine.
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The Magic have already squandered some of this opportunity. The team is 4-6 at home and lost two more games at home since the season turned to the second quarter. They went 2-2 in their first major homestand in the first quarter of the season and then went 1-3 during the team’s homestand last week.
That does not bode well for the team’s playoff hopes or their goal of defending the Amway Center.
But winning these games are vital if the team wants to do anything.
They are not facing all easy opponents either. The Orlando Magic have to face the Toronto Raptors and two against the Chicago Bulls this weekend. Both of those opponents are teams the Magic are directly competing with in the standings. These are must-win games to just prove legitimacy.
After the four-game West Coast road trip, the Orlando Magic return home for four more games the team should feel it can compete in against the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons.
The Magic just have to hope they can hold on until then and through then and then take advantage of these moments.
If they are not able to do that, things could get very dark very quickly for the team. . .