Orlando Magic must not let this road trip slip away

If you watched the entirety of Monday night’s Orlando Magic loss to the Sacramento Kings, then you can count yourself among the staunchest fans that this franchise has.

Not only was the 136-111 defeat a game in which the Kings poured in an outrageous 23 3-pointers, a franchise record. It was also one that exposed all of the ugly parts of this Magic roster, and its construction. Both mentally and physically.

Outside of a few nice moments early on, there was no fight, no desire and by halftime no way the Magic were going to win the game as they went in trailing by 20 points. A sorry departure from the game that preceded it, a third straight win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Orlando Magic are wobbling on the road after a demoralizing loss. But they must not let this invaluable road trip slip away.

The group still has three games left out West before returning home. They are against the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. A daunting gauntlet of games. And should the Magic go 0-3 during this stretch, their small postseason chances will take a sizeable hit.

To make matters worse, the Magic have gone 5-14 on the road so far this season, shooting a poor 33.4 percent from deep in these contests. Compare that to at home, where they are a more respectable 10-12 and have shot a marginally better 35.2 percent from 3-point range.

There is one saving grace nestled in among the angst, however, but it is a double-edged sword. The Magic play up to the level of their opponents and never was this more evident than in the two straight road wins they enjoyed over the Boston Celtics last month.

This was also on display in beating the Warriors at their place. Draymond Green’s words have hit a nerve within the Magic organization, and they have reacted accordingly to the defending champion Warriors since those comments were made.

So on paper, the Magic should be up for tussles with the contending Nuggets and the surprise package that has been the Jazz. Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers should be cause for concern though, and therein lies the less appealing side of the sword.

When the stakes do not seem particularly high, like a sleepy Monday night game in Sacramento, the Magic just cannot seem to get themselves up for the challenge. This is the mark of a young and inexperienced group, and one still finding their feet.

A season is long, and whereas the idea of beating Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in back-to-back games sounds great, shutting down fundamentally sound, but not super exciting, players like Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes just is not as cool.

Which likely explains how the Magic let Barnes go off for 30 points, even though they had players like Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. who have the ability and body type to slow him down on a lot of possessions.

This is no excuse for the terrible performance, and that malaise is something head coach Jamahl Mosley has to figure out how to stamp out quickly. For all of the positives he has brought to the helm, that inability to get the team focused for every game has been concerning.

It is hard to play with playoff intensity every time the team takes to the court, but the variance in some of these Magic performances is worrying to the front office and fans alike. It is also unacceptable.

What an opportunity this is then for the group to rally together on the road and to attempt to take three wins back to Florida with them. These road trips are always taxing on the body and daunting to read on the schedule.

But they represent a chance for this young team to develop an “us against the world” mentality, which will be huge for them in battles down the road. The comforts of home have been modest, as highlighted by the 10-12 record, but there is no reason the Magic cannot pick up some road wins.

They have shot 78 percent from the line away from home, which is a solid mark and shows that they still get the benefit of the referee’s whistle in opponents’ gyms sometimes. This cannot be overlooked for a young team that currently boast no All-Star players (just yet anyway).

Ending on a positive note, there are always going to be growing pains when you get players back from injury and roll out new five-man lineups. Even if Franz Wagner appears to excel in all of them.

Bol Bol will rejoin the team in Portland, having been in health and safety protocols for the last four games. Not only will he be out to prove a point against his former employers in the Nuggets, but his size and ability make him a nightmare to game plan for.

The re-introduction of Bol Bol, as well as the continued integration of Jalen Suggs, ensure the Magic are close to being whole again. This road trip can still be salvaged, but the team need to ensure there is no repeat of the performance versus the Kings.