Anthony Black and coach Jamahl Mosley were speaking in his office recently talking about the pressures of the end of the season. The duo was preparing for the final push to the regular season and the postseason ahead, a relatively new experience for Black, who was out of the rotation last year.
As much as teams try to block out outside noise, they know where they are in the standings and the stakes as teams try to sharpen themselves up for the postseason. The Orlando Magic know they have a lot on the line.
Mosley said the goal is not to apply too much pressure to these final games but still knowing what's at stake. The preparation and what the team has studied help them be ready for these critical games.
Just like last year, the Magic's fate will go to the season's final game. The difference this year is that they enter those games having come out on top last year with the 5-seed. That playoff experience for a young team will prove vital as the Magic face a gauntlet in the final four games.
"We went through a lot these last couple of years injury-wise," Black said after practice Monday. "Our team matured a lot. We had to learn how to be uncomfortable and win games being uncomfortable. It helped us a lot. When these playoffs come and this Play-In Game wherever we end up, we'll be ready."
It is abundantly clear what is at stake as the Orlando Magic prepare to face the Atlanta Hawks. The Magic lead the Hawks by one game for the 7-seed and the Southeast Division lead. The two teams play each other twice in the final four games—the first coming Tuesday at the Kia Center.
After the Hawks split their two games this weekend at home, the Magic can clinch a better record than the Hawks, including the tiebreakers, with a win Tuesday (or Sunday) and one additional win this season. That would almost assuredly clinch the 7-seed, too, even if the Chicago Bulls go on a 4-0 spurt to end the season.
The Magic control their own destiny for their postseason fate.
Experience fighting for the playoffs
But that was the case last year, too.
After defeating the Chicago Bulls on the Sunday before the season's final week and climbing to the 3-seed in the East, the Orlando Magic needed only one more win to clinch a playoff spot. But they came out lethargic against the Houston Rockets in a loss, dropped the back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks, and then lost to a red-hot Philadelphia 76ers team.
It left the Magic needing a win over the Bucks to earn the 5-seed or face a road Play-In Game in Miami with a loss. Orlando won that game against Milwaukee at home to close the season and set itself up for the playoffs.
It was a clarifying moment for that team. But they hope struggling in the last week of the season is not in the cards. Orlando hopes it has learned something from last year.
"I think last year we had to play to the last game as well," Paolo Banchero said after practice Monday. "We know what that feels like. All four of these games matter. We can't take any of them lightly. Having that experience last year of having to play all 82 to the very end helps us do the same this year."
That experience gave the team a ton of confidence heading into the season before hte injuries took over. It is giving them confidence as they get their offense and defense in shape and prepare for the final push to this season.
The goal is still relatively simple—win as many games as they can to put them in the best position. That would be holding the 7-seed and getting two cracks at home to advance to the playoffs in those games next week.
The experience is still valuable. And getting there will still take some growth even with the success the team had last year.
A newcomer's burden
While stars like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will carry a significant weight to get the team over the finish line and into the playoffs, it will also fall on a role player like Anthony Black.
While Black is in his second season, he was out of the rotation for the team's final push to the playoffs last year. Black played in only 29 minutes during the last four games of last season, and 22 of those came in a blowout loss at Milwaukee.
Black has been vital to the team this season as one of the leading scorers off the bench. He has averaged 11.4 points per game and shot 47.8 percent from the floor in his last 10 games. The Orlando Magic will need a boost from Black to close this season out.
The team will need to grow. So too will Black.
"I think that young man knows exactly how to handle situations like this," Mosley said after practice on Monday. "I think a lot of that developed hunger in him to understand what he needs to do on the floor. A defensive mindset, first and foremost, to initiate our defense. Offensively, being able to command the floor, attack downhill, being aggressive. Those are things we are asking of him. Him being able to be in this situation is great because he was able to watch it before and use that hunger for now."
The whole team is certainly hungry to return to the playoffs. Despite whatever disappointment there might be from this season, the Magic still view returning to the postseason as a key goal. They are still fighting for something.
And these are the kind of games everyone lives for.
The reality is that pressure games at the end of the season will become a yearly occurrence for the team. Playoff positioning is always on the line at the end of the season. Teams need to be at their best and at their sharpest at this point in the season.
The Magic know there is a lot to play for to close this season. Even beyond Tuesday's game against Atlanta.
"It's a lot of fun," Black said after practice Monday. "Those are the games we come to play. Big games, important games. It's fun being in the rotation at the end of the year, close to the playoffs. It's super exciting for these next four and after that I'm super excited to see where we end up and what we do."
Orlando has gained the experience of these battles from the last year. The Orlando Magic can still show everyone what they have learned with their difficult road to close the season—home vs. the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics and then on the road at the Indiana Pacers and at Atlanta.
The Magic know what is on the line. They know where they stand. They know what they must do.