Orlando Magic remain focused on the process, even with the positive results

No one on the Orlando Magic is throwing parties for their recent run of success.

The Magic have slowly been climbing the defensive rankings in the league and playing some impressive basketball. For the first time all season, they have put together some sustained success in winning four of their last six outings.

It might be easy to get enraptured with them, even understanding the limitations of some of the opponents the team has defeated during this stretch.

But this is the NBA. Every team finds its rhythm and finds a way to scratch out a few wins. The Magic are going through a good stretch right now and momentum is building.

This season is about the big picture, though. And everyone understands exactly where the team is at. One good stretch of play is not going to change that dramatically.

"“I mean not too high, we’re 11-38 or something like that,” Moritz Wagner said after the team’s practice Friday. “It’s not like we’re throwing parties out here. We understand the circumstances. Nothing really changes. Obviously, the mood is a little better on the bus afterward maybe. You have to take this year as a day-by-day mentality regardless of wins and losses.”"

The Orlando Magic are indeed 12-41, still the worst record in the league, although now tied with the fewest wins with the Detroit Pistons. Nobody should be celebrating anything significant quite yet. There is a rough West Coast road trip ahead and a trade deadline that likely promises some changes to the roster in significant ways.

This season was never about wins and losses though. And the team has embraced that for this year as a way to improve.

The Orlando Magic are experiencing their best run of play of the season so far. But the team is not getting too excited, they are sticking to the process that will help them improve and build on these results.

Every player loves to say that the league is about not getting too high or too low. There have been a lot of lows this season and they have had to find things to be encouraged with and build on as the season has gone on.

Now dealing with a little bit of success, the Magic are trying to keep themselves focused on those same processes. The results right now are not as important as the work the team has put in and continues to put in to get better.

"“The approach definitely does not change,” Franz Wagner said after Friday’s practice. “Yeah, we’ve won four out of six. We’re still alst in the East. I don’t know why our approach would change. I think our whole mentality all year and the coming years will be we are worried about the next play and the next game and always trying to get better and not worry about how many wins or losses we have. That’s what good and great teams do and we’re trying to develop that.”"

The Magic wanted to spend this season focusing on their big picture and improving each day.

Moritz Wagner said the team has had to find things to appreciate even in their losses as a sign of their growth. Still, seeing everything get put together in this way has been encouraging and a sign of the path the team is on. They have had plenty to build upon.

In their last 15 games, the Magic are 12th in the league in defensive rating (109.5 points allowed per 100 possessions). Even recently the team’s offense has started to come around. In the last six games, the Magic are 14th in the league in offensive rating at 112.2 points per 100 possessions and eighth in defense at 108.7 points allowed per 100 possessions.

A lot of things the team has been preaching — especially the team’s passing and team defense — have started to cement. And that is something the team can continue to grow and build.

As coach Jamahl Mosley said the team is now gaining the experience to recognize what the coaching staff is asking of them and how to implement their principles in the course of the game.

This spurt is a product of the team’s growth and their commitment to what they have worked on since the beginning of the season.

"“I’ve said it from the beginning and our guys have said it from the beginning, we are going to be about the same things no matter what,” Mosley said after Friday’s practice. “We’re going to compete every single night. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to work every single day to get better. These guys are going to grow and get better. And then we’re going to have fun and play with a sense of joy every single night. The result is always going to take care of itself. We always want to make sure our guys are focused on the process.”"

The results are certainly a sign of the team’s progress too.

They have been competitive a lot more lately. They have not lost a game by 15 or more points since a 108-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 15. That is their only loss by 15 or more points in 17 games. They had 10 such games in their first 36 contests.

The team is getting a whole lot more competitive and learning how to manage games better. That was a key lesson on the team’s back-to-back in Chicago and Indiana this week.

Fans certainly appreciate the home wins and seeing this tangible progress. It can be more difficult to tell a fan base early in a rebuild that things are going well as the losses pile on.

As much as the team probably does not want to admit it, the wins have to feel good too. It is a clear sign of the progress everyone knows they are making.

But the team has always been about the process and been about the work they put in to get there. None of that can change as the team moves through the season and experiences success for the first time.

"“That’s kind of what you are looking for even if you are not winning,” Moritz Wagner said after Friday’s practice. “To make strides even though it doesn’t translate to winning. It’s fun that it translates a little bit right now. I think we have put a great emphasis all year on sharing the ball and playing together. You have to trust that it will show in the long term. We have to keep working on that and have that defensive identity that we have showed all year and offensively share the ball and play together.”"

The schedule is about to get a bit tougher.

The red-hot Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics come to town this weekend for a rare home/home back-to-back. Then the team goes out west with games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. In the middle of that will be the trade deadline that may bring some changes to the roster.

Orlando is going to have to stay committed to its process and the individual improvements they are looking to make as they try to tie it all together again.

That has been the approach all season, regardless of the results. The mission for this team has not changed.