The mood around the Orlando Magic is an acknowledgement that there is still much work to do. But optimism that they will be fine in the long run.
The results are not what the team wants. They know they are measured by that more than anything.
Nobody is hiding from the fact that this team's goals remain to compete for a championship and get out of the first round at least.
The team is not playing at that level. There is some mild frustration with that reality, but still plenty of hope.
The general consensus is that the team is closer than it looks. The Magic, at least, believe that.
The team had a successful 2-1 road trip with wins over the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors that saw the team close out games down the stretch -- with a 30-point loss in the middle. They returned home and crumbled under the weight of poor shooting to lose to the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
Nobody seems to be panicking despite the team's 2-5 record and less-than-stellar statistical profile. But the team is starting to feel some urgency.
A four-game West Coast trip is an opportunity to tie things together.
"We haven't started at home the way we wanted to, so these games are really important for us now," Franz Wagner said after shootaround Thursday. "Some of the turnovers, some of our execution in general, and I think just keep our spirits high. It's early in the season. We have a big opportunity to win some games."
Spirits are still optimistic. The repeated message after the pair of losses is that the team was getting closer to figuring things out and playing more consistently. They put the responsibility on themselves and their mistakes as much as anything.
At some point, the team will need to turn that potential into results.
This road trip is the team's chance to come together and find a way to scratch out wins and establish the team's identity.
One way or another, this is a big road trip.
A rough start
The Orlando Magic are still very optimistic in their process and the gameplan they are running.
They want to execute more effectively. They know that the mistakes -- specifically the turnovers and offensive rebounding -- are things they can correct.
The general sense is that the team still believes in what it is doing and they see the vision when it all comes together.
The team just has not put all the pieces together quite yet.
"I think we have done a better job of coming together, a better job of sticking to our process," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Thursday. "We've got trust in ourselves and trust in our coaching staff. It will all come together."
Coach Sean Sweeney lamented that the team did not have the execution it needed down the stretch in Monday's loss. He said the team lost some of its principles.
It is clear the Magic are still making those prinicples second nature. The Magic have not played at their best long enough, even if there have been some really good moments.
This is a team still hunting a bit for its identity.
As difficult as the schedule was to start the season and as promising as it looks ahead, the Magic are still 2-5 with the No. 23 offense (108.0 offensive rating) and No. 25 defense (116.8 defensive rating).
The Magic are hopeful that these numbers will turn around. Of the six teams they have played so far, five have top-11 defenses. They have also played three top-10 offenses in their first seven games.
The next five games, including this four-game road trip, give sthe team some relief. There is only a top-10 offense in the bunch, and all five teams have a bottom-10 defense.
Then again, so do the Magic. The Magic's statistical profile looks more like a tanking team.
Finding an identity
The biggest issue is the Orlando Magic have not yet established itself in any way. The team knows that success starts with establishing its identity.
They ultimately want their defense to lead the way.
They want to get back to the top-10 defense that led them to the playoffs in 2024 and 2025. The fall-off defensively last year was one of the big shocks and frustrations from last year.
Orlando is still trying to get its defense right. Without that, the Magic will likely continue to sputter.
"I think it all starts on the defensive side of the ball for us," Bane said after shootaround Thursday. "It allows us to get easy ones on offense. The road is a great place to come together and spend time with each other on the court and of the court. I'm looking forward to that."
The Magic have plenty of reasons why that defense has struggled.
Orlando's struggles with turnovers and rebounding have given opponents extra possessions. The Magic are still defending decently -- ranking 16th with 19.0 points off turnovers allowed per game and sixth with 13.6 second-chance points allowed per game. The Magic should be giving up much more points.
They are not forcing turnovers consistently. They keep giving opponents more chances to score.
The bones of the Magic's defense are still there.
They are 19th in the league with a 96.8 defensive rating in the half court, according to Synergy Sports. They are 10th in pick and roll defense against the ball-handler, giving up 83.5 points per 100 possessions. They are 22nd against the roll man, giving up 120.9 points per 100 possessions.
Ultimately the team's defense will determine how far they will go.
Some lighter competition -- the Phoenix Suns are ranked 12th in offensive rating -- could help them better establish these defensive principles.
The Magic are still trying to pull all the pieces together.
Orlando hopes that being on the road together and focused solely on the task at hand will help get things right.
The Magic are not panicking off of their slow start. The team still believes in what it can do. But the time is coming to pull all those pieces together.
That has been the missing piece.
Add us as a preferred source on Google