Loss to Los Angeles Lakers a blessing in disguise for the Orlando Magic

With so much optimism surrounding the Orlando Magic right now, not to mention the fact they had won eight out of their last 10 games, they entered Tuesday night’s tilt versus the Los Angeles Lakers in a strange position.

That of favorites for the third game in a row, having had the tag in wins over the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.

Unlike those two games, however, the Lakers boasted a player by the name of LeBron James, meaning a win was far from guaranteed.

As it turned out, the bullish nature of many fans ahead of tip-off was quickly extinguished, as the Magic put in a tepid performance en route to a 129-110 loss. A timely reminder they may be going in the right direction, but they are a long, long way from their destination.

Yet this had the feeling of a loss that did not do a lot to damage the psyche of the Orlando Magic and in actual fact, may have been a blessing in disguise moving forward.

Any time your two best players have bad performances you are going to struggle, and it is no surprise this was at the heart of the Magic’s woes.

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combined for 19 points, with Banchero having maybe the worst game of his professional career so far. A shame, considering he was excited to come up against his idol in LeBron.

Banchero was only 11 months old when James was drafted, which speaks both to James’ longevity and also the youth on this Magic roster.

They rely heavily on Banchero (20 years old) and Wagner (21 years old) so much already, and at the ages they are, they are not always going to pull through.

This does not quite explain why the loss was a blessing in disguise though. Rather, it just serves to highlight that there will be plenty more tough losses and learning experiences for this young group.

No, why this chastising loss was good for them because of the narrative their fanbase was beginning to build around the roster. That this was a team that had suddenly figured everything out, and that making the play-in tournament was now a foregone conclusion.

Make no mistake, we are not here to bring the mood down or to discourage fans from being excited about this team. They should be, and the play-in tournament is still very much a possibility for this season. It should be one of their goals.

But there was this belief the Lakers, who had lost four straight heading into the game, would be rolled over. That any game against a perceived inferior opponent was going to result in a Magic win.

Basketball, like any sport, does not work like that.

The Magic are going to win games against teams they should not be beating (such as the Boston Celtics, who they recently beat twice), and lose games to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers.

A loss such as this one, where the group got nothing going, had no answer for LeBron James and watched a role player like Patrick Beverley knock down four 3-pointers while everybody shrugged their shoulders, comes at the perfect time for head coach Jamahl Mosley.

He can now gather the group together, show them film from the game and explain to them that every game in this league is hard.

Just because you are on a roll or better than another team on paper, does not guarantee a win. To approach it that way is to lose before the opening tip has even taken place.

The malaise on display was concerning because it harked back to a previous era of Magic basketball. One where the trifecta of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier would go through the motions, hoping their combined talent alone could lead them to a win.

In their last 10 games, the Magic have ranked seventh in offensive rating (116.5) and sixth in defensive rating (111.3). Fantastic as that is, that was never going to be sustainable for an entire season.

Their season ratings of 111.0 offensively (24th) and 114.2 defensively (25th) paint the other, far less pretty, part of that picture. They were always going to come back down to earth, and doing so now in a game many thought they should have won at home was actually ideal timing.

If the first quarter of the season was gruesome for the Magic, it has gotten a lot better since then. They have shown us that they know what it takes to play at close to an elite level on both ends of the court over an encouraging sample size.

A lapse like the Lakers loss serves only to show the group the hard work is not over. And that it is never over.

Forging an identity, such as being the interior bullies we know they can be, remains crucial as the Magic build towards something special.

So they move on to tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons with the opportunity to right the wrongs of 24 hours ago. A game they will play away from home, but another in which they will be favorites to win.

The contest will tell us a lot about the mentality of this roster, and how they deal with setbacks. With some luck, it will also temper expectations for a fanbase that is feverishly behind this organization, great as that has been to witness.