The Orlando Magic find themselves in the midst of an unexpected three-game winning streak. Back-to-back wins over the Toronto Raptors, preceded by an overtime victory over the LA Clippers.
Given the difficult nature of this stretch of the schedule, few saw this run coming. The Magic are still some ways off from the play-in tournament race. But there is no doubt everything seems that bit brighter around Amway Center as Christmas approaches.
It is hard to pinpoint one reason things have broken right for the Magic recently, and really there are three keys to their unexpected success.
With the news that Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is going to miss the rest of the season to have surgery on a troublesome shin, the race to the bottom is as competitive as ever.
The Magic still face an uphill battle to continue winning, and two games against both the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in the next seven days ensure it will not get any easier. But the Magic are happy with how their team is developing and growing in this stretch.
Given how they handled a solid outfit like the Raptors in a back-to-back situation, they should be quietly confident they can hang with an injury-depleted Hawks team especially.
So let us take this time to reflect on what has been one of the best periods of the season, and how the organization made it happen.