Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic have the swagger, but execution falls short late

No one would — or should — doubt the Orlando Magic’s confidence if the game gets tight.

Even after losing a small lead and watching Reggie Jackson score seven straight points to give the LA Clippers a four-point lead with two minutes to play, there was never any wavering.

And trailing by three points with 30 seconds left, it was clear who was going to take the last shot and deliver late.

Cole Anthony got the switch he wanted with Ivica Zubac staring him down. He was setting up the 7-footer for the three, rocking to his right and then back to his left before pulling up and hitting it. There was never a doubt. Anthony continued to add to his late-game legend.

Confidence is certainly not the problem if the team can get to the end.

Increasingly, though, execution is. And every one of Orlando’s wins have come down to the last few possessions. There is nothing easy for this Magic team. And so that meant they were again at the whims of someone else.

Jackson can play that isolation game too. He used a stagger screen to get the switch he wanted, matching up with Wendell Carter. Despite Carter’s best efforts, Jackson hit the jumper over him with 2.2 seconds left.

Terrence Ross got a runner up from the 3-point line but it hit off the back iron and no good, leaving the Magic with a 106-104 defeat at Staples Center on Saturday, their fourth straight loss on this road trip.

The Orlando Magic played a stronger game and gave themselves the chance to win. But some late-game struggles and one great shot cost them a win.

Close but no cigar indeed for the Magic.

And while the team’s record would suggest the team might be fine with that kind of moral victory especially considering how much the team struggles to be in close games consistently, that is not what the team should be about in the end.

And Orlando can point to some of its own mistakes, like those 11 points Jackson scored in the fourth quarter. Or how the team let Luke Kennard get free from deep on a critical possession with less than two minutes to play to stretch the lead out to five points.

The Magic were able to answer to set themselves up to tie the game. That is a testament to their fight and how their offense was executing throughout much of the game.

But far too often, the Magic let the Clippers score in bunches and their defense struggled to get stops consistently. They wanted Terance Mann and Justise Winslow shooting and they burned them at key moments. Kennard hit 7 of 11 3-pointers and consistently got open.

The Magic played a strong game for them and put themselves in a position to win. But it was consistently the details that cost them. Especially at the end when they fell behind and had to scramble to stay alive.

Player Grades

Cole Anthony – B

Lower grades for Cole Anthony are probably a bit unfair to him. He is a second-year player having a breakout season and making a huge difference for his team.

The Orlando Magic are not where they are without Anthony and his confidence. It feeds the rest of the team and makes them so much better. These grades are lower because it is starting to get time to hold Anthony to a higher standard and treat him like the star he is quickly becoming.

Anthony stepped up in a big way when the team needed him most. There is always that confidence that he can shake off slow starts and still put in his numbers. And do so relatively efficiently.

His improvement as a 3-point shooter has been astounding to watch. He finished with 23 points on 7-for-16 shooting and 5-for-8 shooting from deep.

Anthony’s struggles though are still apparent and he will be spending a lot of this season not only keeping up his solid efficiency but improving in these areas. His playmaking is still a bit inconsistent. He finished this game with just two assists and settled for his own shot when the team needed him to move the ball.

And defensively, Anthony still has a lot of work. The Magic tried putting him on Luke Kennard for much of the game and he still sprung open. And his defense on Reggie Jackson late was lacking.

These are known weaknesses for Anthony and areas he has shown improvement and willingness to improve. Keep an eye on these areas for growth.

Franz Wagner – A

Franz Wagner continues to impress as he goes through his rookie year. He scored 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter and was just impressive with how he moved and cut through the defense and read where to get his shots. He had great two-man chemistry with Wendell Carter working out of the high post especially.

Wagner though continues to show expansions to his game that are just as impressive. He hit both of his 3-pointers (8-for-10 shooting overall) and had at least one step-back 3-pointer that just seemed to come out of nowhere.

His biggest growth — or discovery — is his passing. He recorded three assists in the game and was solid at keeping the ball moving and feeding a Magic offense that was playing extremely well.

Wendell Carter – B

Wendell Carter’s biggest criticism of himself is his inconsistent energy at times. He knows that his focus and intensity can be spotty. And it is something he knows he is working on.

Games like this show he still has work to do in this area, but the progress he is making on improving this acknowledged weakness.

Carter scored only two points on 1-for-5 shooting. It was a rough game for Carter going up against two big centers in Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein. But the Orlando Magic never really looked for him in his favored spots. Not until the final moments in the fourth quarter (for some reason) when he was clearly not in rhythm.

Instead, Carter found other ways to contribute. He recorded a career-high seven assists. He fed Franz Wagner on several cuts along the baseline from the high post and the Magic ran a lot of their third-quarter offense through him operating from the elbow. That worked well.

Carter also had 14 rebounds and was a good presence defensively as the 4 and especially when he slid over to the 5.

Terrence Ross – B+

Terrence Ross was due for a game where he could get cooking and put pressure on the defense. The Orlando Magic have had their best chances to win when Ross is the Human Torch.

He was not quite that scorching in this one to get his 22 points. He made only 4 of his 11 shots and one of his six 3-pointers. That is not exactly screaming his best.

But Ross got to the line and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. That included making three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer to answer that Luke Kennard 3-pointer late in the game. Ross comes up with big shots like that all the time. They needed the lift off the bench to stay in the game.

LA Clippers – B+

The LA Clippers were more than game with Paul George out of the lineup. They have a clear identity and they typically stick to it. The Orlando Magic deserve credit for finding a way to break their defense and score consistently. The Clippers were unable to frustrate them or turn them over. Most of the Magic’s mistakes were their own.

But LA did a good job too attacking a struggling Orlando defense. The Magic were giving up points in bunches and never really could get themselves settled. And the Clippers found a formula in drawing the Magic’s defense into the paint and kicking out to shooters on the perimeter.

They just had to hit them. And they did for 18 in 36 attempts. That was the killer for the Magic and the difference in an extremely close game. Orlando said after the game it could live with some of the shooters who hit making them. That strategy backfired to some degree.

The Orlando Magic are now 5-22, 14th in the Eastern Conference. They wrap up their road trip on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.