The last game before the All-Star Break can always be a bit risky.
Even the best teams can get caught looking ahead to the week off and the vacations everyone has planned ahead. That week is an important reset for the sprint to come and the closing kick to the season.
There is still business to attend to. There is still one more game.
For Desmond Bane, this last game is advantageous. There is nothing to hold onto. Everyone has the break ahead. There is no travel and no game to prepare for. This is it for the week.
And that should mean renewed focus. Most teams guard against teams looking ahead to the break. But Bane sees it as a focusing element.
He and the Orlando Magic hope they take that approach to keep the good vibes going into the All-Star Break.
"Everything is about momentum," Bane said after shootaround on Wednesday. "You want to generate as much good momentum as you can. That's not everything, but it's real. We're human. We've got a great opportunity going home feeling good about what we've done going into the break."
The Magic have struggled to build much momentum for at least two months now. They have mostly exchanged wins and losses since their last three-game win streak on Dec. 1. There was that stretch of exchanging wins and losses for 15 games before a four-game losing streak set off some alarm bells.
Doing that has been good enough to keep the team in the Playoff chase. Orlando is within striking distance of avoiding the Play-In Tournament with some built-in advantages in the schedule that should help the team.
Building consistency
The Orlando Magic have struggled all season to build consistency. They have struggled throughout the year to stick to their defensive identity and even find it on a night-to-night basis.
There have been many moments and a lot of victories that felt like they could build that momentum the team is missing. Orlando has scored some huge victories only to have letdowns.
Momentum is the next day's pitcher. You cannot build momentum unless you are doing the work to win the next game.
But good play is contagious too. And there is not a good feeling if the team is not playing well. That is the biggest thing that has changed during this homestand.
"I also believe if you're playing the right way, you feel it," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround on Wednesday. "That's more than momentum. That's just knowing you are doing the right thing at the right time and playing the right basketball. That is part of the momentum. But that is part of your process is right, and you are doing the right things in this moment."
Even against three teams that are near the bottom of the standings in the Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks, seeing consistency on defense and building a three-game win streak -- tied for the longest this season -- has been a positive.
The Magic are starting to do the right things more often.
Defense back on track?
The Orlando Magic have turned in three solid defensive performances, holding teams to less than 105 points per 100 possessions in all three of the games on this homestand and holding the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks to fewer than 100 points.
The Magic have also been a lot better creating turnovers, forcing a 20.3 percent turnover rate in the last three games and scoring 30.7 points off turnovers per game, both league highs for the last three games.
The Magic have needed to get back to this defensive identity and see their defense stand tall, even through at times frustrating offense and shooting. That has been at the heart of many of the Magic's problems.
"It would be tremendous, obviously. We've been playing some better basketball as of late. It feels good. It would feel even better with even more momentum," Tristan da Silva said after shootaround on Wednesday. "It's always a big thing. The confidence that you play with, the comfort level that you play with, everybody being on the same page. That all plays into the momentum piece. And just knowing what to do, how to operate out there on the court. Just gelling together as a team."
Franz Wagner's return from his high ankle sprain has also given the team a major lift. For the first time in a long time, the Magic feel whole. For the first time in a while, they are playing like they are whole.
They are trying to turn that momentum into something that can dovetail into the rest of the season.
"I think it's great momentum heading into the All-Star Break," Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround on Wednesday. "You have these guys leaving out of here on a high note. That means we've played well and done the right things at the right time. I think it is a great way to go into the break."
Momentum remains the next day's pitcher.
Orlando is playing well enough now to have some confidence heading into Wednesday's game against Milwaukee. But nobody knows what shape the team will be at when they reconvene after the break.
The Magic under Mosley have done a good job rallying after the All-Star Break. The team is hoping that it is refreshed for the stretch run and to make a push up the standings.
Heading into the break with a win streak would certainly make it feel like there is wind behind their sails.