Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley came into the league as a player development coach.
His answer to many of the problems a team or a player would face is to get in the gym and drill on them. It is only through working and grinding that they can get better. You take in each experience as something new and learn from it.
Winning still matters for everyone. And even a rebuilding team that knows wins will be precious, and at times rare, wants players who are pushing and hungry to win.
The reality of this season is everyone is going to take their lumps. Players that are extreme competitors and constantly critical of themselves like Cole Anthony understand that too.
The Orlando Magic understood this would be a season of lessons and losses. But the team is still grinding to improve and eager to learn and grow.
To get through this season, everyone has to find some silver linings and take some moral victory. The coaching staff has to show their players they are on the right path and their hard work is pushing them in the right direction.
The first thing they have to do? Get back in the gym and work.
"“No matter what is going on with the result of the game, whether it is a win or a loss, we’re coming into the gym the next day and we’re going to do the work,” Mosley said after practice Tuesday. “I don’t think there is any way we can skip steps. And we won’t skip steps no matter the result of the game. We continue to talk about it being about the process of doing things the right way. As long as we are doing things the right way, the results will continue to take care of themselves.”"
Rebuilding teams are the ultimate test of process over results, that is for sure. And those result may still be a ways off for this Magic team.
So what are those silver linings Orlando can point to?
The Magic did play some really strong offense throughout their West Coast trip. In the five games, the team posted a 109.1 offensive rating in the five games of the road trip. Considering the team’s overall average is at 102, that is a pretty significant bump up.
Franz Wagner continued to look impressive, averaging 18.2 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 52.3-percent from the floor and 56.3-percent from deep. The rookie has made the most of his opportunity and continues to expand his game.
Orlando too gave itself a chance to win in two of the games and had real chances in two more.
The losses to both the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers came down to the final possession with both Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson canceling out heroics from Cole Anthony’s increasingly impressive late-game reputation.
The losses to the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers were largely competitive too.
"“We did certain things in each game that we could take over to the next game,” Gary Harris said after practice Tuesday. “Just continue to get better and clean up our mistakes and not make the same mistakes. It’s a process. It has been up and down. It can be frustrating at times. We did a lot of great things on the road trip. It might not have shown up in the win column. But we have to keep building, keep growing.”"
Of course, they were all still losses.
The defeats to the Kings and Lakers especially sting because of the way they happened too.
Against Sacramento, it was a poor defensive effort that forced Orlando into a sped-up game where the team had to outscore an offensively powered team.
And against the Lakers, the Magic had one really bad quarter where they could not calm themselves and stop a run that made coming back impossible.
Throughout the entire road trip, the team struggled with turnovers. The Orlando Magic had a 17.0-percent turnover rate during the road trip — only the Miami Heat have a worse turnover rate during its last five games.
In many ways, the Magic are still beating themselves and allowing teams to get away from them.
Orlando has continually pointed to how the team has fought back in fourth quarters of these blowout losses. But at some point, those have to turn into wins.
Still, that togetherness and fight is a good thing. If the Magic are looking for little victories and signs the team is focused on the right things and approaching things the right way, these are good signs.
The Magic have to put all the pieces together. This remains the most elusive lesson for the team.
"“Just learning from that, trying to understand the game within a game and how quick the game can change,” Terrence Ross said after practice Tuesday. “Understanding the moments and how we have to handle and approach things. That’s the main point of emphasis. I think that’s something we will get better at, especially the young guys. The older they get and the more experience, it’s something they get better.”"
These are all key experiences for the young team. They just have to continue to improve when they encounter similar situations over and over again.
The team just has to get itself back in those situations to prove that growth.
Getting back to work is therapeutic in that way. One thing everyone associated with the team has said is that everyone is still really tied together, working for each other and into what the Magic are trying to do.
The team’s poor record is certainly frustrating. Nobody likes to lose. But that does not seem to be the focus.
"“One thing I will tell you about this team, and I will say it until I can’t say it anymore, the spirit of this team is unbelievable,” Mosley said after practice Tuesday. “It is because they trust and love each other and they empower each other. They know the work we’re going to have to do every single day to continue to get better and continue to fight for one another. The spirit of this team is awesome.”"
Staying together through a 5-23 start to the season is certainly an achievement.
It seems like players see their individual growth and are embracing the work. The exact thing Mosley is likely focusing on in this early part of the season.
Because when a team is struggling to put all of its pieces together and get the results everyone desire, all there is to do is the work.