Through the first 42 minutes of Monday's game against the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic could see the vision.
They saw a defense scrambling and forcing turnovers. They saw an offense getting downhill and moving and pushing the ball. They saw the ball whipping to open shooters—and those shots surprisingly going in.
Orlando had things clicking at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run. With 6.5 minutes to play in the game, the Magic had a 12-point lead and a 123.2 offensive rating. They seemed on their way to a huge win. Confidence was booming.
Things fell apart quite quickly in that game.
Duncan Robinson hit two quick threes to turn the 12-point lead into a six-point lead. The Magic's sets to get Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner downhill dried up—the Magic scored only 60.0 points per 100 possessions (18 total points on 8-for-27 shooting) the rest of the game. They hung tough and then it was clear fatigue set in on this still-injured team.
The lead collapsed as the team stagnated with the ball in their best players' hands—Wagner went 3 for 11 and Banchero 1 for 6 while everyone else was 4 for 10 the rest of the game.
More than that, the team's defensive communication was lacking as the Heat came around curls for open threes or fired pick and rolls to the basket for Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware to clean up.
In two moments, the Magic showed their potential as they come together and bring their players back from injury. They also showed the hurdles they still have to overcome. They are not quite all there.
And even with Wagner and Banchero playing their normal minutes load, blowing through whatever minute restriction they might be facing, the Magic are still putting the pieces back together this year.
Still, this is time the Magic need as they try to put themselves in a good spot for the playoffs ahead.
The team needs time, but there is also little time to lose.
"It's a lot of games but then it tightens up very quickly," coach Jamahl Mosley said after practice Wednesday. "Before you know it, you are looking at 25 games left. Our ability to understand exactly what that means and are we getting better in those moments? We always talked about are you playing your best basketball in March and April. That's what we're working toward. But understanding you are not going to be there right away tomorrow. It's going to take some time. But are you progressing there? That's most important."
Time ticking in the playoff race
After Wednesday's games, the Orlando Magic are 24-24 and sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Miami Heat (23-23) and a half-game ahead of the Detroit Pistons (23-24). Orlando trails the 5th-seeded Indiana Pacers (26-20) by 3 games and the 4th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks (26-19) by 3.5 games.
The dreams of making the playoffs or earning homecourt advantage are not dead yet with 34 games remaining. But with the Magic having lost 12 of their last 17 and having failed to win consecutive games since Dec. 23, the Magic must start finding ways to stack wins.
There is time to get themselves together. And the schedule opens up beginning with this five-game West Coast road trip. But the Magic cannot worry about anything else but the next game in front of them.
"Just one game at a time," Paolo Banchero said after practice Wednesday. "I think taking that approach, realizing that it has only been a couple of games and we have a lot of time. But at the same time we have to have the urgency to be better."
Getting back up to speed
Jamahl Mosley said the team expected inconsistency like it saw in the loss to the Miami Heat. Some nights Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will look and play well. On other nights, they might struggle to find their way.
The only way for them to get through it is to play through it and get that experience on the court.
Banchero is a great example of this.
He is averaging 21.1 points per game and shooting 40.4 percent form the floor in nine games since his return. He has had strong games—like his 32-point effort against the Detroit Pistons and some rough games like his 8-point, 1-for-14 showing against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Banchero said it is still a process for him. But his body has felt good even after playing heavy minutes in the last two games. He is still getting confidence back just as his team is looking to find its rhythm again.
The whole team is in that boat as they play together more.
"It gets hard trying to get those guys back into the rotation and give them a rhythm within the game but also everybody else trying to keep their rhythm," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after practice Wednesday. "They are playing well and moving the ball. We know Franz and Paolo will have the ball in their hands most of the time. Just being intentional and get them open and making plays for them when we have to the ball in our hands and just playing together."
Mosley said the team has treated this period as sort of a renewed training camp. They are trying to make the most of their time on the court whenever they get it. He feels the players are making progress to get better and get back to full speed.
The first 3.5 quarters Monday showed what they are capable of. It still ended in defeat.
The reality is the games still come fast and furious. And they all count, even if the Magic are still working their way back to mid-season form. They still have to find a way. And that task gets tougher going on a five-game West Coast swing.
As the Magic get healthier—Gary Harris was upgraded to PROBABLE after missing the last 13 games with a strained left hamstring and Jalen Suggs remains QUESTIONABLE with a right quad contusion—they are going to see far more good moments than bad moments.
They have shown they can still accomplish their goals. It is now about putting it into action and getting closer to that ideal vision for the team.