The Orlando Magic have had a choice all season.
Will they let their injuries, shortcomings and frustrations grind them to a halt or will they fight back? In a season that feels lost and clearly disappointing, the Magic are grinding and trying to find themselves.
There is a bigger runway for this team. Everyone in the organization seems to know it. But that does not change the frustration of their current reality and what they are left fighting for.
Orlando has been searching for that formula to win all season it seems. When it feels like the Magic have had it, they lost it just as quickly. Nothing seemed to sustain. There was no guiding light shining through.
There are glimpses and glimmers of their success. The elements have been there but incomplete and not for 48 minutes.
The Magic have sought that full effort. They have sought to find the best version of themselves. The thing that has been so close and so clear and yet so far away and beyond their reach.
Orlando needed a game to show everyone—but most importantly themselves—what they could do. In a 118-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic overcame all those demons. They put together a 48-minute effort and outworked a star-laden team. They won consecutive games.
It is better late than never to score a win of this magnitude and begin building consistency. Orlando needed a firm reminder of what it is capable of being.
"We can play with anybody," Paolo Banchero said after Monday's win. "And we know that. We just haven't been playing up to our standard for a long time. Sometimes a game like this is something that can propel you to start playing better and start playing at a higher level. Hopefully, everyone realizes we are a really good team we just have to have a certain level of focus night in and night out. We can't be relaxed."
Playing to the standard
That is what is missing. The Orlando Magic have missed playing to their standard. Everyone can feel the team coming up short. It had to start somewhere for this team. Everybody needed to be locked in.
Paolo Banchero was aggressive from the jump, scoring 11 of his 30 points in the first quarter. Franz Wagner picked up steam in the second half with 20 of his 32 points. They paced the Magic through the game's ups and downs.
Orlando got plenty of support as Los Angeles tried to load up on Orlando's star players.
Anthony Black was aggressive scoring 17 points and dishing out six assists. Wagner had nine assists himself. Wendell Carter scored 12 points to go with eight rebounds. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored nine points, making three of his six 3-pointers.
The Magic's offense looked to push the tempo and get into the offense earlier to try to counteract its biggest weakness. They scored 20 fast-break points, marking the second time this season they scored 20 fast-break points in back-to-back games.
That shows the team's newfound confidence and determination. Orlando's defense has always been present and always been reliable. What seemed to be missing was the shooting effort and the ability to convert off those turnovers or misses.
The Magic continued their hot shooting, making 37.5 percent of their threes (15 for 40) and counteracting the Lakers' desire to cut off drives to the basket by spreading the ball around and knocking down open shots.
Everything finally clicked into place.
"Just continue to trust the process," Wendell Carter said after Monday's win. "Sometimes you don't shoot the best from the 3-point line. Today we shot pretty well. When we generate good looks, you've got to take them. You take them and live with the results. We have to continue to play the right way no matter if the ball is going in or not. You live with the results."
What has been constant but failing this team is its effort and determination on defense. The Magic have been sluggish and have allowed long lulls to derail their games. Particularly in the third quarter.
After giving up 21 free throw attempts in the first half, Orlando started to defend without fouling, giving up only seven free throw attempts in the second half. The Magic outscored the Lakers 34-18 in the third quarter, hitting five of nine threes to take control over the game.
The moments where the Magic typically hit their lulls and dry spots that allow quality teams like the Lakers to steamroll them never came. They took control of the game like they did in their win Friday over the Washington Wizards.
That is how the Magic won consecutive games for the first time since the first game after the All-Star break. They locked in and made sure they were the ones carrying the game.
"I think just continuing to put those things together," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Monday's win. "We have talked about the third a ton. We came out in Washington and played well in the third and tonight did the same thing. Just the level of focus and the mindset of having to take care of business. That's what we did tonight."
Orlando Magic finding consistency
The Orlando Magic have been seeking consistency all season. Now that the team is making shots regularly and getting superstar showings from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the team i set up for more success.
But the team still struggled to put all the pieces together. Something always comes up that derails them. The Magic have been knocking on the door but unable to get through.
All the while, Orlando has slipped down the standings into the Play-In Tournament. They have ground to make up. Time is running out for them to find themselves.
But it is better late than never. The goal has always been to play their best basketball in March and April. Things are still trending in that direction even as the Magic struggle to find their breakthrough.
Perhaps this is it. Perhaps this is the Magic finding themselves and finally making good on the potential they and everyone knows they have.
Perhaps this is the Magic putting their foot down to be the team they know they can be. Things are trending up again.
"I thought overall these last couple of weeks we've been playing a lot better basketball," Franz Wagner said after Monday's win. "There are these kinds of stretches throughout the game where we struggle in. Apart from that, from the standpoint of how we approached the game mentally was really good. Hopefully, we can replicate that tomorrow [Tuesday]."
That part is true. None of it matters if the Magic drop the ball in Charlotte. That was something the team echoed in the wake of the game.
Paolo Banchero said the consecutive wins do not matter. This is what the team expects to do. This is merely the Magic holding themselves to their own standard. They have to do that again in the final 10 games. It has to carry over to the next game.
Orlando is starting to find itself again. They are picking up wins more frequently. The question is whether this is the breakthrough or another visage of what could have been for this team.