Jalen Suggs does not want to experience what the Orlando Magic went through last season. That has quietly been one of the themes from training camp and the determination that has fed this team to grow again.
A 1 p.m. tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day of the season with everything on the line was stressful. The win for the Magic finally allowed them to celebrate a playoff berth. But getting there was no picnic. A late three-game losing streak meant that a loss on that final day would have tumbled the Magic to the 8-seed and a road game against the Miami Heat for the Play-In Tournament.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the Magic came out on top, defeating the Bucks 113-88 to turn the afternoon into a celebration for a breakthrough season.
But that experience fed the Magic all offseason long. The Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the fact that the home team won every game in the series further fed the team's ambition and drive.
"That's the cool thing about learning as you go, we got to pick up from that experience last year," Jalen Suggs said after practice Tuesday. "We felt getting down the stretch and getting to that 82nd game at 1 p.m. against Milwaukee that we did not need to be in that situation.
"So many games as you look back and reflect that have had an impact on where you are in the present moment. It's days like this, a random Tuesday in February and March where you really need to lock in and apply the things that we've been teaching. Getting off to the right start is something we have spoken about and something we believe in. Everybody's mind is fully focused on the game and getting this thing rolling."
The Magic certainly got that wake-up call last year with how frenetic their final week of the season was. They do not want to experience it again. They want to control their own destiny in a different way now.
It was a point of pride that the Magic never had a record below .500 last year, the first time they could say that since Dwight Howard manned the middle in the 2011 season.
Orlando wants that confidence and control again.
Magic's success starts with belief
The Orlando Magic know that the hot start and their continuity to hit the ground running helped them build a cushion to make that breakthrough into the Playoffs. It was a launching pad of confidence for their breakthrough into the Playoffs.
That was a big part of their success last year: Their belief.
Jalen Suggs told Orlando Magic Daily and Locked On Magic that early in the season last year Franz Wagner emphasized to everyone how critical belief was. To change the team's culture they had to first believe in what they were capable of.
Now that they know what they can do and have ambitions to do more, that belief is just as important knowing the road that is ahead.
"I keep going back to how well they are communicating with each other, knowing the ups and downs and what is going to happen throughout the season," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "They have communicated a lot of that already. That's been the biggest point for these guys knowing exactly what we're facing and how we have to go about it and how we'll approach it with the mindset of believing what we're capable of doing and stepping on the floor every night and proving it."
This is still a very young team. But they have that year of maturity and experience to build from.
The team has talked about how their experience last year has helped them focus and prepare for this training camp. There is still a lot left unsaid.
The early season is still about the team building and growing. The preseason is over and the games start to count. But Mosley said these early games are still about taking what the team worked on through training camp and applying them.
Things will not be perfect right from the start. The team still has to grow into its identity and build. The team has to peak in March and April ahead of the Playoffs. And the Magic know now that is their ultimate destination, not the final stop.
There is a lot this team expects of themselves as much as the external expectations they face.
"We know that it's really the first year here that we have expectations," Franz Wagner said after practice Tuesday. "We talked about our mindset coming into the season. we are very aware we are not sneaking up on anyone. But also we haven't really achieved anything yet. We need to have that urgency every day having felt that last year that every game matters heading to the end of the season."
Every game counts
That has been the theme. The Orlando Magic know that every one of these games count.
Franz Wagner said the team cannot play with the frenetic urgency of the playoffs this early in the season. They still need to be loose and embrace these early games. But everyone recognizes that all of these games matter. There still has to be the right intensity and urgency.
That is part of the approach the Magic have brought to their entire training camp. That is the maturity they are hoping to bring to this season.
The Magic will get tested from the first game.
"I think you are always growing, you are always improving, you are always trying to get better," coach Jamahl Mosley said after practice Tuesday. "It's going to come in different phases for this group. Going on the road for the first game is a great opportunity again to come together, to challenge each other, to bond together. It's one game in this moment. You are not looking too far ahead. You have to take it one game at a time no matter how we go."
The team feels ready. Wagner said the team's continuity and familiarity with each other and the confidence of last year have them further ahead of where they were in the last couple of years. But nobody knows until the ball is tipped Wednesday at Kaseya Center.
Orlando is now heading to Miami to open its regular season. Game 82 in Atlanta on April 13 (not to mention a big Game 81 in Indianapolis on April 11) is a long way away. But the Magic are more mature in at least one sense: They know how important all of these games are.
Even this first trip south to face the Miami Heat.