Before the Orlando Magic's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 25, coach Jamahl Mosley pulled clips from the team's Game 6 victory in last year's playoff series to serve as a reminder for his team of what they were capable of.
Almost every player on the team or associated with that team has said Game 6 was the pinnacle of their time with the Magic. The energy inside the Kia Center, the confidence to win an elimination game—not to mention surviving a 50-point onslaught from Donovan Mitchell—and the execution down the stretch to secure the victory were all highlights of a coming-of-age season.
Regardless of what happened in Game 7, that game felt like an arrival for this young team. The Magic seemed destined to break into the top half of the Eastern Conference. And even after building and losing a 17-point lead in Game 7 on the road against Cleveland, Orlando entered the season determined and confident.
The Magic's stated goals were abundantly clear. They wanted homecourt advantage to avoid needing to win a road game after the home teams swept all seven games of their first-round series. They saw that as their ticket to getting out of the first round an continuing their ascent.
They hoped that watching Game 6 again would remind them of what they are capable of as they watched the Cavaliers rocket to the best record in the Eastern Conference and their season plummeted with injuries.
Instead, the replay served as a reminder of how far they are from those heights of a year ago. The Cavs routed the Magic 122-82. The game was never particularly close as Orlando's shooting could not keep the team within shouting distance and Cleveland put its foot down in the second half.
It was clear these two teams are not in the same stratosphere anymore.
"They are better than us. They proved that tonight," Paolo Banchero said after that game nearly a month ago. "They were clicking on all cylinders. They were talking, they were communicating, they were sharp. They were a flat-out better team. I wouldn’t even say we are on that level. Last year was a different team. You can't point to last year. This is a whole different season."
This is indeed a completely different season. One that is far away from where they hoped it would be and what this team can be.
Frustration has taken over
All the positive vibes that carried the team through last year's breakout have given way to frustration.
Yes, injuries played a major and irrefutable role. The Magic lost their top two scorers for more than 20 games. They then lost their third-best player to a knee injury that limited him to 35 games this season. Their top bench player suffered a torn ACL in late December.
Still, something has felt off for most of the year. When Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner returned, they needed time to get their legs under them, so they played only one game with Jalen Suggs. The team has struggled to regain its footing.
The Magic are just 9-20 since Banchero returned on Jan. 10. Naturally, Orlando has sunk, sitting in eighth in the Eastern Conference.
The hopes of homecourt advantage in the first round are long out the window. The hopes of making a playoff spot outright have dwindled.
The Orlando Magic are fighting to keep homecourt advantage for the 7/8 Play-In Game. They trail the Atlanta Hawks by 1.5 games.
Orlando cannot seemingly worry about what other teams are doing. The Magic have won consecutive games just once since Dec. 23—and those two wins came with the All-Star break between them.
Even defending their homecourt has gone wrong.
The Magic are only 18-16 at home after starting 10-0 at Kia Center. Orlando lost six of seven games on a critical seven-game homestand out of the All-Star break, including that loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and five games that all came down to the final minutes (all losses).
The Magic have struggled to get on the same page.
Hope or defeat?
It is hard to know how good or how bad this team is. They started the season 16-9 and were on pace to accomplish all of their preseason goals. The Orlando Magic still are third in the league in defensive rating.
But the Magic have been unable to find that rhythm and confidence since the injuries hit. It indeed feels like the team is due for change this offseason after passing on making any moves at the deadline—at least partially on the hope Suggs would return soon.
The Magic have no choice but to keep believing and keep searching. The team they believe they can be must be in there somewhere.
"I think just keep relaying the message that not all was bad and that we will turn this around," Franz Wagner said after the Orlando Magic's loss to the Golden State Warriors. "I think that's the most important thing. I think also we do have to get better at stuff. I think we can't go out of the locker room putting our heads down. I think that's the most important thing. "
One thing is clear, this will not sit. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said continuity only works if a team is winning. Something is clearly not working with this group and would require changes even if the Magic give themselves grace for their injuries.
How drastic the Magic's changes this offseason might be determined by how much the team can blame its standing in the East on injury. It should be clear that is not the only case.
The Magic's three-point shooting never quite came around. The team is shooting 30.9 percent from three, the worst mark in the league by more than two percentage points. Orlando once again has one of the worst offenses in the league and has not had a defense out of the bottom 10 in the league since Dwight Howard left the team in 2012.
Even two offensive savants in Paolo Banchero (second in the league in scoring since the All-Star break) and Franz Wagner have not been enough to save it. The shooting is a big reason why.
But even the team's defense has faltered. While the Magic are still third overall in defensive rating at 109.4 points allowed per 100 possessions, they are 14th in the league with a 113.4 defensive rating since Banchero's return.
Things have indeed slipped. The Magic are struggling to find their identity. That has only added to the frustration this season.
"We have to challenge each other," Banchero said after the loss to the Cavs in February. "Guys have to be pissed off by this. Everyone needs to be pissed off by this. It's got to change. We can't just keep saying it. Something has to change."
Orlando knows it can play better. The team saw and felt that throughout last season and early in the season. But when the Magic reached back, they were unable to find it.
The Magic's struggles only highlight the weaknesses in the roster, many of the same ones that cost the Magic in Game 7 and throughout their playoff series. Orlando was unable to solve the problems to help the team improve.
The way this season has played out has forced the Magic to change their expectations. They are not going to reach last year's heights.
As they walk into Rocket Fieldhouse for their first Sunday nationally televised matinee since Game 7, they have fallen a long way.
The only question that matters for this season and beyond is: How do the Magic reclaim the progress they have lost?