A week ago, the Orlando Magic were riding high.
They disposed of the Miami Heat on the road for their seventh straight win, securing a five-game season series sweep and climbing to fifth in the Eastern Conference. The vibes were good and it felt like the Magic were unbeatable.
A lot can change in a week.
A tired Orlando Magic team got run out of the gym against the Atlanta Hawks. The Orlando Magic returned home to put up a fight, but ultimately got consumed by the Oklahoma City Thunder juggernaut. A road blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets made it two blowout defeats in three games.
A seven-game win streak has given way to a three-game losing streak. It has dropped the Magic back into the crowded race for sixth in the East where one loss could drop them down to ninth on any given night.
With 13 games remaining, beginning tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers, on an eight-game win streak, every game is going to feel important.
And so the first thing the Magic have to do is regain the rhythm and vibes that led them to their win streak. They have to do what they have done all year when they have faced crippling defeats and respond.
"Bounce back," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday's loss to the Thunder. "Here's the thing: We talk about one game at a time. Last night we didn't get the result we wanted. Tonight, you didn't get the result we wanted. But are we playing the right type of basketball? I think we did some good things tonight. But I think there is a lot we can grow from and learn from going to Charlotte. That's the next game. That's what we have to focus on and how do we get that one done."
The disappointing aspect of Thursday's defeat to the Hornets was that the Magic made far too many mistakes and did not maintain the momentum from early in the game. They let go of the rope with their worst defensive rating since the All-Star break -- 148.6 points allowed per 100 possessions through three quarters!
It was not a return to the defensive identity that defined the win streak. It left the Magic feeling further away from its identity and who it could be.
If the Magic are going to get back on track that is where it will start.
Back to an identity
The biggest change in the Orlando Magic's 10-6 run since the All-Star break, and particularly in the seven-game win streak, was the return to the team's dominant defensive efforts and how that fed their offense.
Before the break, the Magic ranked 14th with a 114.0 defensive rating. Since the break, Orlando ranks eighth with a 110.7 defensive rating. During the win streak, the team gave up 108.8 points per 100 possessions.
The return to the team's defensive intensity and detail was the key to their success.
It was evident in Monday's game against the Atlanta Hawks that they were a step off. They were struggling to execute their switches and lost track of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, especially.
The same thing happened in the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. The Hornets made nine 3-pointers in the third quarter to expand their lead. Orlando was just not in sync and not on the same page, playing more like the struggles the team had in December and January.
Orlando spent most of its season trying to put all of its pieces together.
The Magic know that if they want to climb the standings once again, they will need to get on the same page and defend at a higher level.
Not far away?
Things changed dramatically in a week for sure. But that also suggests the Orlando Magic could right the ship quickly, too.
The Magic's seven-game win streak did not completely come out of nowhere. They went 3-1 on a West Coast trip after the All-Star break. But it was born after two frustrating losses to the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons at home.
The Magic righted the ship and went on their long run. It does not take much to catch a rhythm.
They have responded all year. And that is why the Magic remain confident.
"We're trying to connect to what we've done that seven-game stretch that we had before these last more recent games," Tristan da Silva said after shootaround Saturday. "I think we're not far from it. It's not like we lost pieces or had to switch something up completely. I feel like we are right there, and we have to hold onto what is working for us."
The trick is to find what was working and recapture that rhythm. That has been the problem the last few games.
The Magic have played a lot recently. The team has played six games in nine days and will play their seventh in 11 days on Saturday. They are finally paying their Europe tax. And the fatigue is clear to see, even if it is not an excuse for such lifeless efforts.
The Orlando Magic should use this weekend at home to reset themselves as much as they need to squeeze out wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers (before a back-to-back at Cleveland on Tuesday). The Magic's schedule normalizes some after that trip, beginning with Thursday's game against the Sacramento Kings.
All of these games still count. And the standings are only getting tighter. Orlando knows the team needs to approach these games with urgency and take care of their home floor first.
"We're approaching them with the right mentality and right mindset," Desmond Bane said after Tuesday's loss. "Coach is doing a great job preparing us. Our players are coming in hungry and understanding what's at hand. I think our mindset is in the right spot. We just won seven games in a row. We lost to an Atlanta team that has won 10 in a row and the team that has got the best record in the league. I don't think we need to start hanging our heads or anything."
Every win streak starts with one game. And that is where the Magic want to start things. They want to get back on track, get back to their defense and get back to winning.
It all has to start with that first step and bouncing back from these defeats.