For all the hand-wringing and frustration over Tyus Jones and his production, he still plays a very important role on the team.
For an Orlando Magic team that is among the youngest in the league, Jones has a wealth of experience. He is someone who players can lean on for information and poise. When the team has questions or needs points, Jones is one of the players they can turn to.
Jones said he just wants to be a calming voice in the ups and downs of an NBA season. He is their sounding board when the team needs to find some answers.
Right now, the Magic are searching for answers. They are searching for consistency. And that is not something that a veteran like Jones can always solve simply through advice.
Still, he is there if the Magic need him as they try to work their way out of a win-one-lose-one rut.
"We can't just be OK with it or think we'll chalk it up and get the next one because that's what we have been doing," Jones said after practice Saturday. "That's where we've got to grow. That's where we've got to show more maturity and be ready to string some games together. These are the games that matter down the stretch when you are fighting for seeding and positioning. You don't want to look at it as we wished back in January or December, we did X, Y and Z. We've got to fix it now."
Orlando has not lost much ground in the playoff standings.
The team is still 21-18 -- the same record the team had during its 47-win season in 2024. The Magic are sitting in eighth in the Eastern Conference, but (virtually) tied with the Miami Heat at 20-17 for seventh and a half game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for sixth after their win on Saturday. The Magic are just two games behind the Toronto Raptors for fourth in the East and homecourt advantage.
There is still clearly plenty of time to make up ground in the standings. But these are also opportunities lost. And treading water is good enough to keep hope alive, but not good enough to move up.
Looking in the mirror
Multiple Orlando Magic players have said they have to look in the mirror and work their way out of their stretch.
They are 7-8 in the 15 games since Franz Wagner's injury. He will miss his 16th straight game Sunday with the left high ankle sprain. But Moe Wagner will return from more than a year out with a torn left ACL.
Orlando has alternated wins and losses for the last 12 games, beginning with the overtime win against the Utah Jazz.
The pattern is about the only thing that has been consistent during that run. The Magic have seen significant decreases in their offensive rating -- 110.4 points per 100 possessions, 26th in the league -- and an even bigger downturn in their vaunted defense -- 114.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, 17th in the league.
The Magic have done well to protect the ball most of the season but will have random games with loads of turnovers. After starting the year as one of the best rebounding teams in the league, the team has struggled to control their glass, failing to prevent offensive rebounds and not supplementing their offense with rebounds either.
There are even questions about the team's overall effort and energy. Two things that were unassailable in previous seasons for the Magic.
"I don't think you can pinpoint it to one specific thing," Tyus Jones said after practice Saturday. "There are different areas we have been inconsistent as a group. Some of the things we're doing is we're not setting ourselves up for consistency. We are leaving it too much to our natural ability and natural talent. So we've got to tighten up in some of those areas and show some growth and show some maturity. "
A lot of things the Magic have come to rely on have become completely unreliable. The Magic are seeking some relief and something to hang their hat on.
So much seems to be off-kilter.
Still on track?
But it should be clear how much better this year's team is than last year's team.
Two key starters who boost the defensive end, especially, are still working their way back from injury in Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs.
But more than that, the Orlando Magic hit this rut last year too at about this time.
Following their elimination from the NBA Cup last year, the Magic lost six of their next 11 games. That is when injuries overtook the roster completely. Orlando was working to stay afloat.
What the Magic cannot have happen is what happened in January. Orlando lost 10 of 12 games beginning at Game 39. That is what virtually sealed the Magic's fate as a Play-In team.
The Magic know this streak will break one way or the other.
The task right now is to tighten up on the team's details and get back to playing a fully focused effort. It is to get back to the basics of what the team is trying to do.
The Magic held their first practice inside the AdventHealth Training Center since before the NBA Cup semifinal against the New York Knicks. It is a small thing and not the only time they have gotten work, but it is symbolic of an ability to fine-tune things that can slip with limited court time available in the constant barrage of games.
The Magic need these moments to improve and focus on themselves.
Despite the ups and downs, there is no sense of panic. There is frustration -- and many things within the team's overall control -- but the team is not losing sight of the big picture, even through these struggles.
It has been clear that players are maybe trying to do too much when things get hard. But there is still an opportunity to come together.
"It's just staying together. I think everyone wants to play better. Everyone wants to right the ship. In doing so, some of those times, you get in your own head individually. I think we just have to stay together collectively as a group and come out better for it on the other end."
The Magic have that chance again Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans. It may take only one game to turn things right and get in shape again.
Improvement takes one step and then another. The Magic are searching to take those steps.