Orlando Magic have lost their defense and lost their way

Being a team at the bottom of the standings can often be like playing a game of whack-a-mole.

Whenever the team feels like it has solved one problem and begins to focus on another, the problem springs back up. It is a constant chase to find the things the team can rely on and to fight for consistency.

Young teams are always going to struggle there. There will be slips and those slips will often outpace the gains the team has made.

Still, as the Magic prepare for the All-Star Break and near the final quarter of their season, there are areas that feel like they have started and stopped too much. Parts of their identity have taken hold and others the team has let go of.

There are corners the Magic have shown they can turn and yet, they are right back seemingly where they started.

Orlando is searching for answers, seeing only brief glimpses of what the team can be.

Wednesday’s pre-All-Star-Break finale, a 130-109 loss to the Atlanta Hawks that was not even really that close, was a sign of everything the Magic can be and everything they still want to be and how they have not yet put those pieces together in a consistent manner.

But at the heart of the problem is everything is too easy for the Magic’s opponents. Their defense, which had seemingly made gains is struggling to be the backstop the team needs.

After a strong January, the Orlando Magic have seen considerable slipping on defense as the team has struggled to cement a piece of their identity.

The Hawks were the latest team that made a living going wherever they wanted to go.

Trae Young diced in and out of the lane and found open shooters. The Hawks took turnovers and missed shots and got back before the Magic could get set. Orlando was struggling to keep contact with anyone — or defend without fouling.

"“I think they were really comfortable,” Jalen Suggs said after Wednesday’s loss. “I don’t think we did a good enough job pressuring them, putting heat on the ball, especially early, getting them out of their rhythm. They were able to do whatever they want and get to their spots. Everyone was able to get going early. I think we need to do a better job getting heat on the ball and taking on that challenge.”"

The Magic gave up 130 points, 50.0-percent shooting overall and 18-for-35 shooting from deep. The Magic’s offense was chugging along, but still down double digits from nearly the beginning of the game. Orlando was never keeping up with a team like Atlanta, no matter how many possessions the team tried to play.

The Hawks posted a 128.7 offensive rating for the game. Not anywhere near the worst the Magic’s defense has had this year. But still nowhere near where the team wants to be.

For a team that talked about becoming a consistent defensive outfit early in the season, found some success through the month of January, the Magic have taken some major steps back. And it is going to be hard for them to win without their defense carrying its weight.

It has been quite a fall from where the team was just a few weeks ago.

"“I think a big portion of it is we talk about wanting to have aggressive ball pressure,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday’s loss. “We want to get into the basketball, we want our help to be there early. That’s the biggest thing: ball pressure, rim protection and then defending the three. What happens now is when you try to get into the ball with a guy like Trae Young, it’s hard because he navigates screens well.”"

During the Magic’s 15 games in January, the team was eighth in the league with a 107.8 defensive rating — nearly five points per 100 possessions better than the team’s season average.

The Magic still only won four games because their offense was by far the worst in the league that month. But it felt like something they could build on.

In nine games in February, the Magic are giving up 117.0 points allowed per 100 possessions. That is still 27th in the league. But the magic should be measuring against themselves more than anyone else.

Even if January’s defense was helped by an easier schedule, the team should not have regressed this much. And it seemingly happened with the end of the team’s homestand. Since going on the road again, the Magic have struggled to find their defensive togetherness.

The Orlando Magic have had only two games in their last 10 with a defensive rating better than 110 — both wins, one against the Detroit Pistons and the other against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Hawks certainly present a difficult defensive challenge. Young can get his shot off with very little space and he is crafty setting up his shots with his dribble and shot fakes. He shook both Franz Wagner and Trae Young on second-quarter possessions.

Those are plays the team can live with.

What the Magic cannot live with is the lack of discipline that led to fouling — 19 fouls for 28 Hawks free throws — or the free run players got through the lane. Young could get into the paint and have his pick where to go, whether it was finishing at the rim or beyond the arc.

Atlanta opted to finish Orlando from deep.

"“I think a better question is what weren’t they able to do out there tonight,” Cole Anthony said after Wednesday’s loss. “They just pretty much had their way with our team. Obviously, they are a very good 3-point shooting team. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to strap in defensively and challenge them. They were super comfortable out there. We’ve got to do a better job sticking to the game plan and making dudes uncomfortable and not feel so free and relaxed out there.”"

The Magic still did some things well. They did good turning misses and miscues into fast-break points for 24 in the game. They outscored the Hawks 56-46 in the paint.

Mosley said some of the team’s defensive struggles stem from the team’s focus on increasing the pace of the game. Especially recent opponents are good at matching that pace and hitting open shots. It has left the Magic stretches a bit thin.

He said the team will look at mixing up its switching and trapping packages to get the team back on track defensively.

But the Magic are once again frequently playing from a deficit. Defense is supposed to be the thing that draws the team back and has drawn the team back. And it just was not there.

That is not how this team was supposed to function. They were supposed to be built on their defense. It was supposedly what they worked on all through training camp.

It took a long time for the defense to find some consistency. For 15 games, it felt like the Magic were finding themselves.

But the team has not built on those successes. And that is both the most concerning thing for this team in the first year of its rebuild and the thing the team needs to reflect on most as it enters the All-Star Break.

The Magic need to find their identity and it starts on defense. The way the Magic have played lately is simply not going to get the job done.

Until they get their defense back under control, the Magic are going to continue to look lost. And it will be difficult to make the progress the team needs.