When the Orlando Magic are losing or struggling to find their offense, they know exactly who they can turn to so they can create energy.
It could be a defensive play, diving on the floor for a loose ball, a big three or just some big play. It could even be as simple as pumping up the Kia Center crowd or giving the right word of encouragement. Something they can feed off to push through and will themselves to victory.
Noticeably absent on the court—and on the bench—for the Magic was that beating heart for the team. Jalen Suggs missed his first game with a low back strain. He will likely be out for some time to let it heal.
The Magic are left trying to figure themselves out again as they wait for Paolo Banchero's return or any sign that Suggs can play.
The Magic tried reaching deep into their reserves and came up empty Sunday night.
There is no other way to describe a bumbling 105-92 defeat to the equally undermanned Utah Jazz. The Jazz found the reserves from Walker Kessler (10 points, 17 rebounds, six offensive rebounds) and Lake Highland Prep alum Brice Sensabaugh (27 points, 5-for-6 shooting from three).
They beat the Magic at their own game as the Magic struggled to find any momentum. The energy just was not there and Orlando could not create it.
"I think a big portion of it was they hit a lot of good ones," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's loss. "You have to give them credit for the way in which they came out. They turned it up. We missed a lot of long shots that led to long rebounds. They were out on the break. Their ability to just keep pressing forward and attacking, I think that was a big portion of what happened in that third quarter."
It is not that the Magic cannot win these games. They have won without Suggs before. But it still takes a special collection of efforts. What the Magic missed Sunday goes to the team's core.
Lacking offensive energy
The Orlando Magic were found wanting and unable to create the consistent penetration and scoring pressure it needs to generate any kind of offense. The game was a constant struggle to score and eventually that drained the defense.
The Magic shot just 35.7 percent from the floor and 14 for 47 from three (29.8 percent). The fact the Magic took 47 threes—just the seventh game this season they shot more than 45 3-pointers—suggests how much the Magic were not attacking the basket.
There were open misses as there always are with the Magic. But it belies how little movement they were creating. It was an unenergetic offensive showing.
Orlando finished with 36 points in the paint on 18 for 41 shooting. Even when the Magic could get downhill, they were missing shots or playing around Walker Kessler and his shot-blocking prowess.
The Magic were playing tentative and that goes against who this team is.
"We just weren't able to get any stops when we needed to," Jett Howard said after Sunday's loss. "We took some bad shots here and there, specifically me. The possession battle means a lot in the NBA. Every possession matters and the flow of the game matters. They got hot at the right time."
That is what stood out about the Magic more than anything. It was the lack of energy. At every moment the team seemed to find a spark on offense and a moment they could break through they did not.
It could have been Howard, who scored a career-high 21 points on 4-for-10 shooting from deep, hitting a three and then following it up with what he called a bad shot or the Magic missing a rushed three. Or it could have been Walker Kessler grabbing an offensive rebound—one of six on the night—and kicking back out to a player like Brice Sensabaugh for a back-breaking three.
Quite simply, the Jazz made all the winning plays that kept momentum in their corner. They came out and took the game in the third quarter, breaking the 43-43 stalemate with a 17-9 extended run over the first seven minutes that pushed the lead out to eight.
Orlando trailed by nine at the end of the quarter and then gave up 15-7 spurt to open the quarter and trail by 17. There was no coming back from that, not with the offense failing to find a rhythm all game.
The Magic needed to keep the game close and constantly found themselves outworked by the Jazz.
"We've said it from the beginning of the year, we don't want to allow the offense to dictate our defense," Mosley said after Sunday's loss. "And I think a little bit of that happened tonight. The shots were not falling. There were some wide-open, great looks, they didn't go in. And I think you have to know that you can't control that. But you can continue to control your effort, your energy, your line of communication with your teammates, knowing exactly what's happening out there. They came in with some pop. That's why they came in and took the game."
Finding energy again?
And that leads back to the question this undermanned team faces. Where does it find its energy and purpose without its best players? Can the Orlando Magic still reach deep into those reserves?
It is not impossible. The Magic know that it is there somewhere. And the Magic are still willing on defense—the Jazz posted only a 107.1 offensive rating which would be an above-average defensive game for the Magic and the Magic forced 22 turnovers for 21 points. They know it will be there.
It is hard to dig in and find that energy when so many shots are missing. It is hard when key shot-makers like Cole Anthony struggle at 5 for 14 or Tristan da Silva makes 3 for 11 and misses all four of his 3-point attempts or when Caleb Houstan goes 3 for 10 from deep or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is 1 for 8.
Ultimately, these are players trying to learn how to create shots and struggling with expanded roles. That is the inconsistency you expect from a team missing so many key players.
By the fourth quarter, the team could feel the weight of those misses and the inability to generate good shots and slowly faded from contention. They could not find the spark.
That is a spark that Suggs so often creates for this team. Even when the team is struggling on offense. Suggs can make a play that creates energy for the team.
But that is not an excuse the team wants to lean on.
"That's not a reason, that's not an excuse," Mosley said after Sunday's loss. "You just have to go out and play the right way. And I think that's a big portion of it. So regardless of what the case is -- who's in the game, who's not in the game -- you have to continue to play the right way. . . . We have to just sit down and guard the way we know how."
For the Magic to accomplish anything, they know they need to find that energy and intensity. That was simply lacking and fading as they fell to the Jazz on Sunday.