Orlando Magic beating themselves as they try to learn to win

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks played with the calm and composure of a team that knows exactly what it was doing.

Alley-oop from half court to John Collins in transition? No problem. A three-pointer falling away into the bench to beat the shot clock? That is just Trae Young. It all felt so normal for this Atlanta team, like the team had been there before.

As Collins said to the Hawks’ social media team after the game, the Hawks had to put their foot down, look themselves in the mirror and correct their mistakes after a difficult first half. They knew they were the team with the edge — both at home and in experience to close out these games.

That is the talk of a team that has been in this situation before. The kind of team that could shrug off their superstar scoring two points on 0-for-7 shooting at the half and still find a way to win. A team that has the faith that players will step up and do what is needed for the team to win.

And then in the fourth quarter, to put the gas pedal down and blow the doors open.

The Orlando Magic again struggled with self-inflicted wounds in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks as the team continues through the growing pains of learning how to win consistently.

The Hawks may not have the championship pedigree, but they have been to the playoffs in each of the last two years. They expect to be back there again. They know how to win. They know exactly who they are.

The Orlando Magic are talking about all these things a team like the Atlanta Hawks embodied in the Hawks’ 108-98 home win on Friday. The Magic want to be the team that knows itself well, adjusts to any setbacks, learns quickly from mistakes and still executes when the game matters.

"“You’ve got to credit Atlanta for what they did,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday’s loss. “They turned up the defensive pressure. They understood that their ability to get stops was going to allow them to get out and run out. We just have to make sure we continue to keep our composure and guys continue to fight down the stretch.”"

The Magic’s fourth quarter was unfortunately a repeat of Wednesday when repeated self-inflicted mistakes fed the opponent’s strengths.

The Hawks outscored the Magic 28-17 (after the Magic scored 27 points and were cruising despite poor shooting percentages in each of the first three quarters). Orlando shot just 5 for 18 in the quarter including 1 for 8 from beyond the arc.

The Magic got a healthy diet of free throws to support their offense but took just six free throws in the quarter. That was not quite enough to buoy the team through it.

Worse still, Atlanta turned five Orlando turnovers into eight points including eight fast-break points. The Hawks took the lead and never let go from there. Orlando was unable to grasp the rope.

As Paolo Banchero put it after the game, the Hawks got hot and the Magic got cold. But worse, the Magic allowed mistakes to compound as their poor offense finally led to cracks in their stout defense throughout the game.

"“I think we got down as a team,” Cole Anthony said after Friday’s game. “Our energy kind of faded as we got to that fourth quarter. They started picking us apart and taking advantage of that. That’s when they started to get those open looks. We as a team just have to lock in.”"

The Magic can still point to a lot of good things the team did.

Their 105.9 defensive rating for the game against last year’s top offense in the league is really good. And the Magic played some fantastic defense, frustrating Trae Young throughout the game even into the fourth quarter and forcing 13 combined turnovers between Young and Dejounte Murray.

Orlando even reduced its fouling — committing just 19 total fouls for 16 free throw attempts. That was a marked improvement from the first game against the Detroit Pistons and from the team’s preseason.

The Magic could even claim they just needed to hit some shots.

Making only 8 of 34 3-pointers put the team in a big bind. Had they made a couple of open threes earlier in the game, they could have been up 15 or 20 points instead of just 12. That would have made the game completely different.

Orlando’s poor shooting is still a major issue. But it is ultimately not why the team lost either of its first two games. The Magic’s errors still feel very correctible — whether it be the turnovers (19 total turnovers for 24 points) or the ability to execute consistently on offense.

The team may have kept its cool, but it was forcing things offensively to try to break its rut. And that only led to further mistakes.

"“Our guys did a good job of keeping their composure,” Mosley said after Friday’s game. “We let go of it a little bit, Trae got open for a couple of threes. But for the most part, our guys came in down seven points understanding what they needed to do and then it got away from us a little bit.  I really like what our guys are doing. They are staying resilient in these moments. Not panicking and understanding what we need to do.”"

The team has taken some hits and still found a way to bounce back. That has been one of the things Mosley wants as part of the team’s identity.

Still, then, there is that critical missing piece.

At the end of the day, the Magic want to see the team take more steps toward winning and doing things that are necessary to win games. And those pieces of the puzzle have not come together.

Something, usually self-inflicted, is keeping Orlando from getting over the hump and winning these games. The Magic are trying to hold themselves accountable for these mistakes and avoid the cascading mistakes that bury the team in major deficits.

Orlando’s players conceptually know everything the team has to do to win. But right now, the team is not putting those thoughts and words into action. All they can do is learn from the experiences they are gaining and try to get better.

That does not help in the win/loss column. For now, Orlando is making critical errors that are costing them games. And they have not yet corrected or limited them enough to get the victory.

That has left a foul taste in an otherwise positive start to the season.

The Magic could then learn something from the Hawks. They have clearly identified some of their issues — whether it was limiting their fouls, limiting their turnovers or taking smarter, more composed shots — now they have to put their foot down and fix them.

That is where the team’s real growth likely will take place.