After a 32-point loss, it would be easy to harp on all the negatives that come from it.
The team was able to crowd both James Harden and Kevin Durant but still let them do the things they were effective at. Even with a hand in his face, Durant was burying jumpers over the defense and Harden was taking the attention of the collapsing defenses to dish out to the perimeter where the help was late to contest.
More than that, it was easy to look at the 3-point shooting especially as the key difference in the game. Orlando’s 4-for-33 performance was going to make it hard to win any game. At the end of the day, a team needs to make shots to win.
That is not necessarily where Mosley’s focus was even after the game and certainly not a few days later.
There were plenty of things to clean up on both ends of the floor, but part of his points of emphasis were to show clips of the things the team did right in that game. And, truthfully, one of them was the team’s 3-point shooting.
Phrases like, “Trust the process” and “Process over results” have become a cliche in the league. But they become a cliche because there is truth to them. Doing the right things over time will lead to results even if they do not do so immediately — or every time.
This young Orlando Magic team is still getting down their process to score and play. Something the team is hoping to build, even if the results do not always show it.
And with a young team, the focus on doing the right thing and ingraining them are key to their development. Even if there are occasional ugly nights with other things to clean up.
"“It’s just trusting that process,” Jamahl Mosley said after practice Friday. Understanding you have to show the looks that we’re getting. Sometimes we will show a film session and it will just be process-driven, don’t worry about the shot. We won’t even show the shot being made or missed. We just show it is the process of it more than it is about whatever happens. If it goes in or it doesn’t go in, I want them to understand it’s the process they went through to get to that shot.”"
Wednesday’s game certainly had some process issues to clean up. But his point when it came to the 3-point shooting might have been correct.
Of those 33 3-point attempts in Wednesday’s game, the Magic took 31 attempts with the closest defender at least four feet away, according to NBA.com’s tracking data. Thirteen of those attempts came with the closest defender more than six feet away.
On top of this, the Magic recorded 44 potential assists in the game (slightly below their average of 46.8 per game). It was not as if the Magic were not moving the ball to get good looks in the game.
Orlando has not been shy about taking 3-pointers this season. After a strong run last week, the team has cooled off a bit from deep. And there is always the concern of over-relying on 3-pointers especially with a team that does not have the best shooting reputation or consistency.
But those attempts are largely good ones. And it is not as if the Magic overshot from deep.
Making even a few of those at key moments would have gone a long way to turning that game — which was an 11-point deficit with 1:36 to play in the third quarter.
"“It’s hard to beat anybody in this league or any league when you shoot 4 for [33] from the 3-point line,” Mo Bamba said after practice Friday. “Even when your shots are not falling, there are little things you can do to go out there and put yourself in the best position to win. I think next time around, we’ve just got to go out there and defend and make things hard for their two superstars.”"
The Magic will get a second crack at the Nets in one week in Brooklyn on Nov. 19. There will be a lot of lessons to learn for that game.
There will be a few games to play between then, including the conclusion of the team’s five-game homestand on Saturday against the Washington Wizards.
Orlando has been trying to work to cement their practice habits in that time at home, trying to build those habits that can create the process the team wants to build.
Practice time is the best time for instruction and having that can help the team better their process for success. It is where the team can highlight what is working and not and get to the work of correcting mistakes.
It is something the team will not always be able to do while they are on the road — a four-game trip is coming up before the team returns home the week of Thanksgiving.
One of those habits the team is working on is about sticking with and trusting that process even when the team is struggling.
Wendell Carter, who participated in Friday’s practice after getting poked in the eye Wednesday and is slated to play in Saturday’s game, said one thing he is trying to improve on is trusting his shot after he misses a few in a row and having confidence he can bounce back.
That is a feeling that seems to permeate the team. This is a young group that has been and will continue to be susceptible to wild swings of emotion at times.
"“We’re a young team,” Carter said after practice Friday. “We’ve got two rookies that are starting now and they are great players. But they’ve got to understand as a rookie, you’re going to go through your ups and downs. I can’t even count how many ups and downs I had my rookie year. You just have to stay grinding and stay committed to the work.”"
Carter took the question of the team’s up and down nature to mean the rookies. But it certainly could be good advice for him and other players. There is a lot of basketball yet to play.
And that is why getting the process down and building those habits are so important. There will be bad days like Wednesday. But the team has to understand that by doing the right things and sticking with them, there will be days the pendulum swings the other way.
More importantly, doing the right things and getting those quality shots, and even sticking with the game plan and process even when the team is struggling will more often than not right the ship.
That is a difficult lesson for young teams to understand. But a vital one.
"“We’re finding different ways to teach and different ways that they learn,” Mosley said after practice Friday. “They grasp it pretty well. We’re getting the shots that we want. It’s stepping in with a high level of confidence which I have in each one of these guys to step in and take and make the shots.”"
Orlando has had a solid homestand despite the 1-3 record. The team showed some good signs and picked up the huge win over the Utah Jazz. Closing it out on a win against a strong Wizards team would be a good pick-me-up before “The Gauntlet” begins.
But the most important thing they can take away is the process and the way they will play and figuring out how to carry that through the rest of the season.