The Orlando Magic needed to get away at the All-Star break.
The team had been through a trying and often frustrating season to that point. The team was merely staying afloat as it dealt with injuries to several key players. Orlando failed to live up to its internal expectations more than anything else.
They did not look like the Magic either, ranking 14th in the league giving up 114.0 points per 100 possessions. The Magic had lost a lot of their formula with several confusing games where the team lacked effort and energy.
Orlando had seemingly lost its formula through all the injuries it dealt with early in the season. And so the All-Star weekend was a chance to get away and reset. It was a chance to restart things with the Magic still in the race and in the Play-In range.
That reset was perhaps exactly what they needed. They returned to practice in Sacramento to start a four-game road trip with a completely different mindset. It felt like a new season.
"I think us having that break was what we needed," Wendell Carter said after shootaround Wednesday. "Everyone got to reset mentally and physically. Everyone came back, and it was like starting a new season. Everyone just came in, and there has been a sense of joy on and off the court. I think just that break, in my opinion, gave us a little bit of a juice and some rest that we needed."
The Magic have ridden that renewed spirit and that juice to a 7-3 record since the All-Star break. All three losses could have easily been wins -- with the Orlando Magic losing at the buzzer in double overtime against the Phoenix Suns, losing a 17-point third-quarter lead against the Houston Rockets and a seven-point halftime lead against the Detroit Pistons.
Orlando has ridden its identity since the break, leading the league with a 105.3 defensive rating. That has helped the team not only win and compete in every game, but fed the offense to a 116.2 offensive rating, ninth since the All-Star break.
At long last, the Magic look like the team everyone thought they could be. And they did it by returning to the identity that they were built on -- their defense.
Improved defense
Even the deeper numbers suggest a massive improvement.
The Orlando Magic's opponents scored 51.4 points in the paint per game before the All-Star game, ranking 21st in the league. Since the break, the Magic are giving up 48.8 points in the paint per game, 14th in the league. A small but notable and important improvement for the team.
The Magic gave up 49.0 drives per game, according to data from Second Spectrum, and 31.3 points per game on drives before the All-Star break. Since the break, the Magic are giving up 27.0 points per game on 47.3 drives per game.
The team's ball containment and ability to fly to contest shots is more similar to the identity the team hoped to build. Everyone has done their part.
"I think our guards have done a great job getting into the basketball, trying to keep teams out of the paint," Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround on Wednesday. "Doing a great job there. Then our bigs are doing a great job when they are able to switch and keep the ball in front. That's been the biggest key. The other side of it is being able to rebound the basketball. We have had a few games where we have given up some offensive rebounds. But for the most part, limiting teams on the offensive glass has been key for us."
Orlando has had some shaky moments on the glass. It is the one area that the defense has found itself to be weaker. The Magic are switching a lot more to keep opposing guards out of the paint, and that has left them exposed a bit in the interior.
It is a gamble the Magic are willing to make right now. And it does not get executed effectively without the intensity the team has brought lately.
But still, everyone has stepped up their defensive intensity.
Wendell Carter echoed the compliment from Jamahl Mosley during the weekend that Paolo Banchero has upped his game defensively. The attention to detail and intensity that comes from the star player has helped raise everyone's level.
The return of Jalen Suggs after he missed three games with a back injury has alos helped increase the team's defensive energy and level.
Everyone is more locked in and focused to deliver the kind of defensive performances the Magic have been waiting for.
"I think intention and communication have been the two biggest keys," Suggs said after shootaround Wednesday. "I think under intention falls your energy and effort night in and night out. You have to make a conscious decision to go play defense because it's not fun and it's physical. It asks a lot of your body and mind to stay engaged on that end. I think everyone has done a good job."
Defense is indeed hard. And far too often this season, it has felt like the Magic expected things to be easy as they tried to figure out how to make this group work.
Magic finding their joy
The Orlando Magic are now in a really good spot. They have figured out how to integrate Desmond Bane and play with him. He has found his fit with the team defensively, too.
Everyone has started to figure out their roles. The team's vibes and camaraderie are coming back out. You can feel their joy on the court, another key trait of this Magic team.
That is something the team has talked a lot about too. And they are finding it again.
"We've had multiple conversations just with the squad," Suggs said after shootaround Wednesday. "Me and Des have had multiple conversations, as well, of playing with a smile and searching for a smile. Although these games matter and they count, we are taking them very seriously, that doesn't mean you can't laugh, you can't joke and do something to smile and have fun out there. I think finding a balance of both of those is key. I think we've been doing a great job of it."
The Magic have indeed figured things out. They have found pieces of their identity and are implementing it more and more. That is why the Magic feel like they have found themselves once again.
They have gotten back to their defense at long last.