Everyone on the Orlando Magic can admit this has been a frustrating season.
The team did not imagine it would be playing for its Playoff lives in the 8-seed elimination game of the Play-In Tournament when they started camp in September. This was not supposed to be a funeral march to their season.
There is no taking that back, though. The team cannot rewind the clock and reverse all the frustrating circumstances that led them here.
All they have in front of them is this one game. Forty-eight minutes that separate them from the Playoffs and a complete disaster.
Overcoming the frustration of the season is only the first step of the process. All that matters is this game.
"The only answer you can have to that is to stay in the present moment," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Friday. "If you look to the past, you get stuck there. Our guys need to have the ability to stay in the moment. And that's what they've done. They have proven in moments like this that they can perform."
For all the frustration in the season and all the changes that seem inevitable ahead, the Orlando Magic still have this one game against the Charlotte Hornets to get themselves into the Playoffs and save a little bit of face.
They still have all the potential that led to the frustration and disappointment this season has left unfulfilled. And they have one game to show it or fade into the offseason.
To clinch their playoff spot, they will need to forget all the baggage form this season. They will need to get back to the identity that has eluded them all season.
Physical from the start
The Orlando Magic's identity has been a major question throughout the season.
The Magic built their reputation as a try-hard team that outworked opponents and played a physical, bruising defense.
Orlando's defense slipped from the start of the season, ultimately falling to 13th in defensive rating. The Magic have spent the better part of their season trying to get this identity back, playing well when they find it and catastrophically when they are not.
This is a flawed Magic team. But they still know how they need to play. And the Magic want to set a physical tone from the start.
"Establish physical dominance," Wendell Carter said after shootaround Friday. "That's the first thing that has to happen going into this game. After that, it's about making shots and all the little things. We have to set our dominance physically."
The Magic have a reputation for their physicality as much as their defense. They are a big and long team. They foul a lot as they try to find the line for their physicality. But it is a key part of who they are.
And if they are going to beat a smaller, faster, perimeter-oriented Charlotte Hornets team, they are going to need to be dialed in defensively and work to make them uncomfortable.
The Magic have had to battle their effort too throughout the season. They have had to fight to find their urgency from the game's beginning.
Charlotte won three blowouts thanks to strong first quarters, leading by 12 and 15 points after three quarters in wins at the Kia Center in December and January. The Magic found themselves trying to climb uphill against one of the league's best offensive teams.
Orlando must set its tone early and control the tempo to win.
"Os [assistant coach Dale Osborne] always said you don't win the game in the first quarter, but you set the tone. We've got to come out and set the tone. Physicality, that's been our bread and butter. That's who we are. Nothing changes."
Wendell Carter put it simply, this game will come down to winning the hidden possessions. It is not about the flashy play or the flashy pass. It is about digging out the 50/50 ball and the rebounds to secure possessions.
The team that protects the ball and wins on the glass, wins the game. Those are things the Magic are successful with when they are their best.
The Magic know their success starts with them and embracing who they were always meant to be.
Nothing left on the court
Ultimately, the message has been that the past does not matter.
The Orlando Magic may have some extra experience in elimination games and win-or-go-home games -- think the regular season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024, Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and last year's Play-In win over the Atlanta Hawks -- that the Charlotte Hornets do not. But this is a different team.
Even the immediate past and all the frustration built up in the last few weeks and months no longer matter. All that matters is the 48 minutes ahead of them. If the Magic win that, they will get their playoff ticket and a chance to play again.
"Now that we're here, it's time to make the most of it," Wendell Carter said after shootaround Friday. "After, you don't want anyone to come into that locker room saying, 'I could have played harder.' We're going to make or miss shots, that's going to come with the game. But in terms of playing hard, that should not be a question tonight."
The Orlando Magic believed they played hard and with the intensity they needed in Wednesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. That game came down to an inability to make key shots and plays when the game called for it.
Carter said the team's confidence is still very high. They still believe their best version is ready to come out. Even 83 games in, there is still hope.
It is on the Magic to put that on display in the next 48 minutes. If they do not, it will be their final 48 minutes.
Nobody really wants that.
"I expect everybody to leave it all out there," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Friday. "Tomorrow is not promised. I don't think anybody wants the season to come to an end. You've got to play your best when it matters and go try to win the game."
Bane said he expects an energized building, something that could give them a boost give this team the swag and joy they play with at their best.
There is a lot of baggage from this season. But the Magic have 48 minutes to put it all away.
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