The mood around the Orlando Magic is still one of frustration.
Every time it feels like the Magic are turning a corner, they seem to fall back into bad habits. Nothing has felt consistent at any level.
This team is looking forward to a break to reset, get away from the frustration and return for a push to end the season.
That will not change the fans' frustration. The Magic have fallen well short of expectations. They are not the team they believed they would be. They are certainly not the team fans believed they would be.
There will need to be some reckoning and diagnosis for why the Magic failed to meet their expectations.
Was it simply injuries? Do they need a new coach to reach their next level? How much better can Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner be with another offseason to change and adjust?
No one is denying Orlando has had a disappointing season that deserves this self-reflection. But the Magic also must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
There is one undeniable truth the Magic must realize too, and it is that hope they are going to hang onto:
If this is indeed a bad season or a failure, there is plenty more for the team to build on and grow from, given where they are. Not enough to be satisfied, but plenty to stick with.
Despite Orlando's struggles this season, the team is just one game behind the pace they were at through 53 games in 2024, when they won 47 games. They are three games ahead of the pace they set last year when they rallied after the break to get to 41-41 and the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference.
A similar rally after the break will salvage something from this season. If this is rock bottom for this group and this team failing to reach expectations, imagine what this team can still be?
The Magic have shown plenty of potential
How anyone feels about a season is really about framing.
In terms of the expectations the team set for itself at the beginning of the season and then echoed by fans, the Orlando Magic have fallen woefully short.
The team will have to account for falling short. The Magic cannot run things back after this frustration.
The Magic are 19th in offensive rating (a minor victory in itself, considering the team has not been outside the bottom 10 since 2012) and 14th in defensive rating.
The slip in defensive rating has been the most shocking element of the season. Orlando has lost much of its identity.
Despite that and the inconsistency that has frustrated this season, the Magic are still in the race for sixth. They have ground to make up at 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia 76ers for sixth and avoiding the Play-In. But that is some encouragement too.
Orlando has not played well this season, even accounting for the injuries the team has faced. But unlike last year, when the team cratered -- six games below .500 at one point after a 1-6 homestand after the break seemed to have the team hit rock bottom -- this team has stayed in the fight.
Outside of two four-game losing streaks, this Magic team has not sunk at any point.
This year's Magic have avoided those basement-level moments. They have been able to scratch out wins to stay afloat. Not enough to build win streaks and consistency, but enough to stay in the fight.
If this is as bad as the Magic will be with this group, this is still good. Orlando is still in the playoff hunt with the potential to get better.
The rest of the season will be about showing that potential together now that the team is healthy. Orlando is trying to salvage something from this season and they are hoping health helps them get there.
The goal for the rest of the season
The NBA is not about potential, at the end of the day. There is a winner and a loser in each game. And everyone is judged by results.
The Orlando Magic are not going to hit their season-long goals for this season.
After struggling with injuries last season, the Magic pushed their chips and set themselves up to be deep in the tax for years to come. Orlando needed to see a few things this season:
First, the team wanted to gain homecourt advantage, setting the team up to get out of the first round. Getting to the second round was a big goal. And one the team can still achieve depending on playoff matchups. But the Magic wanted every advantage.
Second, the big goal was getting to that second round and clearly pointing toward being a championship team.
That was something the Magic wanted to learn last year. It was the only reason that losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round was a positive.
The Magic saw in the first round that they were not anywhere near a championship level. They used that as a catalyst to push their chips in for a shooter like Desmond Bane.
Orlando wants to see the same thing this year. The team wants to test itself against a championship-level team and get some measure of how close the team is.
It should be clear now that Orlando is not all that close. And that is where the disappointment rests.
But the team still needs to show how close it might be. And that is what the end of the season is for.
The Orlando Magic can still climb out of the Play-In. That is a worthy goal for this team.
Fully healthy for the first time since the early part of the season, the Magic can use these final 29 games to judge whether this group can be good enough. A push to get out of the Play-In would certainly do that.
A strong finish to the season, where this team shows its full potential, would go a long way to giving clues to what this team needs to reach the next level. Orlando hopes to have a solid postseason. Perhaps the team can still get out of the first round.
It is hard to imagine things being worse for the Magic than this year. They have had enough talent to stay afloat even with all the frustration.