After the Orlando Magic lost to the LA Clippers on Wednesday, there was clearly some frustration on the postgame podium.
The team had the lead for much of the contest, only to give away fouls and allow 25 free throw attempts in the final quarter. What seemed like it could be a solid win at home turned into a nightmare 111-102 loss. The Magic were left knowing they could have done more and prevented the defeat.
The next day was a practice day at the Amway Center and a chance to get back to work. Every day — win or loss — is a chance to get back to work. And this team, for all its flaws and frustrations, gets back to work.
In the day between their game against the LA Clippers and Friday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, they reviewed what they needed to do. There was a film session to talk about the team’s fouling and what went wrong for the offense to stall in the fourth quarter of that loss. Players have been talking through their errors and how to get better with each, with coaches and even in small groups.
There have been plenty of positives for the Magic. But the problem for this Magic team has often been tying all those things together.
Players understand the season is about growth and development. Win or lose, the goal is to get better.
But at some point, the team has to pull all those pieces together. At the end of the day, the goal is and should be to win. And win consistently. That step may still be farther off into the future, but the Magic are still working to build those building blocks and climb over the hump.
The Orlando Magic have taken the lessons of each loss to heart and improved through the season. Now the team is trying to tie them all together to win more consistently.
Perhaps now, after a 119-103 win over the Pistons on Friday, the team is starting to put these pieces together. Maybe there are signs of this growth and understanding of what it takes to win.
"“We’ve got to take our medicine on games that we don’t necessarily do those things that we have to and go out there and try to put in front of our minds,” Mo Bamba said ater Friday’s win. “It’s just film and practice and doing everything in preparation before we go out there and having that focus.”"
They have gone through plenty of the hiccups inexperienced teams have gone through and done exactly what they did Thursday to try to learn and get better. It was all about that early work to be ready to play and bring the energy they needed.
The Orlando Magic’s win Friday night was about as dominant as the team has been this year — a better follow up to Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bulls and the first three-quarters of Wednesday’s game against the LA Clippers.
If there are signs the team is peaking over the hill and starting to play more consistently, they are there. Brick by brick and little by little.
Perhaps Orlando is finally putting all the pieces together. It is a credit to how much this team believes in what they are doing and the final destination they will get to.
"“I think we have a great team chemistry and a great morale,” said Franz Wagner, who scored 24 points in Friday’s win. “I think we come to work every day no matter how we play the night before. We’re all getting better. For us, the end result is not the most important thing. For us, it’s did we make a step in the right direction today? I think today was one of those days. Even a lot of the losses, you can see we got a lot better in those games. I think that’s what it’s all about.”"
In the game of runs, the Magic maintained their composure, came back from their mistakes and put their foot down to race ahead for the win.
Orlando’s dominance started early with the team looking to push the pace seemingly at every turn. They scored 10 fast-break points in the first quarter and were looking to push from the start of the game.
That helped Orlando stake a 39-19 lead after one quarter. The ball moved well and the team set up its offense with some strong defense. This gave the Magic a cushion to play with.
Orlando has not always been good playing with a lead. The Pistons indeed made their run, cutting the lead to seven in the second quarter. Their switching defense bothered the Magic as they struggled with turnovers and struggled to breakthrough.
The Magic did what they have tried to be better at. They got in the locker room and adjusted. Then went out and implemented those adjustments.
The Magic still turned it over too much — 17 for 22 points — and fouled too much — 37 free throw attempts for the Pistons — but they never let go of their aggression offensively. They kept attacking the basket and moving the ball, getting the Pistons off balance and never enabling them to take back momentum.
By the time Terrence Ross buried a couple of 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter — which came after Jalen Suggs’ made an incredible chase-down block to end the third — the results was elementary.
Orlando had maintained its lead and coasted to victory.
"“Weathering the storm was the one thing I was most proud of our guys for,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday’s win. “During the timeouts, I referred back to the film we had watched at halftime and also in the film sessions. I want them to register those things so they remember clear as day what happens in these runs.”"
The Magic will certainly take some hard lessons as the season progresses. They will go through all the things inexperienced teams go through. And there was plenty still to clean up from Friday.
There was also plenty the team improved upon — learning from Wednesday that when the team is in the bonus to keep attacking and getting to the foul line rather than settling for threes.
But the important part — and the part that matters for this team’s long-term development — is that each of these experiences and each of these moments become guideposts for the team to improve. The next time they see the same or similar situation, they know how to handle it.
And more importantly, learn how to win.
The Magic have played better in the last month and everyone feels it. Wagner said there are maybe 5-6 minutes where the team struggles to score and defend and that is where they lose many of these games. Thye are still learning how to eliminate or minimize those moments.
Orlando took some hard lessons during this five-game homestand.
They took a heavy punch from the Los Angeles Lakers in the third quarter, giving up a lead and falling behind by double digits in what was ultimately an uncompetitive game. To their credit, they bounced back and defeated the Bulls, withstanding the counterpunch that cut a 22-point lead down to seven before extending it back out again.
That is perhaps the last step for any young team to learn. It is also the most difficult. Understanding how to manage a lead and get to the finish line of a 48-minute game is the true test for any team. Doing it every night is even tougher.
And ultimately where the team wants to be.
What the Magic have lacked to this point of the season is the ability to tie all these lessons together. They have not been able to get over that hump. There have only been a few moments of their potential.
Friday was as clear a sign of it as ever. A win well-earned, well-developed and well-fought for. A win where the team tied it all together.