Coach Jamahl Mosley has not had to face combative questions from the Orlando media very often.
His four years with the Orlando Magic have largely been about the team's steady rise, from a tanking team to an up-and-coming team to a playoff team. There have been only a few bumps in the road.
The Magic's 3-5 start to this season after they proclaimed championship intentions -- both in word and action -- has everyone feeling a bit uneasy. The Magic do not quite look like themselves yet.
Mosley is feeling the heat and so had to find an analogy to turn it down some, asking reporters whether they turn in their first draft when questioned about the team's early-season struggles.
This is the Magic's eighth draft, then. There is a long road ahead. Things are still forming and coming together.
"We're at game eight," Mosley said after practice Thursday. "These are drafts. They are not the perfect draft. We're not asking these guys to be perfect. But we are going to continue to ask them to be consistent and stick with our process. With that being said, it's not a time to scrap the paper."
It is still early. That is the emphasis from everyone within the team. There is some frustration certainly building up -- most evident with Desmond Bane's wild flagrant and technical foul double in Tuesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They want to believe this is merely a bump in the road.
The team is trying to get itself back to its foundations. So practice was spent working through defensive rotations, defending without fouling and better offensive spacing. All persistent problems in previous drafts from this team.
If the Magic are going to turn the corner and find themselves, it has to start with their wayward defense. If Orlando needs to tighten anything up in its draft, it is there.
Regaining their foundation
It is important to remember how early it still is in the season. A snapshot of the team after any single game can change dramatically.
The Magic have bounced from sixth in the league in defensive rating through three games to 23rd after back-to-back horid perforamnces and back up to 11th after back-to-back wins.
Orlando is currently sitting at 14th at 114.3 points allowed per 100 possessions.
That is far from the standard the Magic have set for themselves. But it is still so drastically early in the season.
"I thought we made some steps forward," Franz Wagner said after Thursday's practice. "Had two good games on the road. I think it's about consistency. We have to take care fo the paint a little bit better than we have been."
That is why there is still hope of righting the ship. But there is a lot to correct.
The team has struggled with its fouling -- giving up a 31.6 percent free-throw rate (24th in the league). The Magic finished last year second in the league, forcing a 16.8 percent turnover rate. This year, they are eighth in the league at 16.3 percent.
The team also has been bleeding points in the paint. Last year, Orlando ranked third in the league giving up 45.7 points in the paint per game. This year, the team is 29th at 55.8 points in the paint per game.
The Magic have had a total reversal on one of their big key defensive tenets as they struggle to contain the ball and keep teams from putting them in rotation.
Nobody thought the Magic would need to work on their defense. But defense has been a major concern.
"I think it all starts on the defensive side of the ball for us," Bane said after practice Thursday. "That's got to be our calling card. When we do get it on offense, just unselfish play. Whatever the right play is, that's the play that needs to be made regardless of who is in what position."
The Magic are giving up 0.997 points per possession in the half-court -- about the league median -- after ranking fourth in the league at 0.957 points per possession last year.
The team is not where it was last year. They need to regain that foundation.
Everything is still settling down and the team is clearly still seeking its identity. But some basic things that have fed the Magic are off kilter. That is what the Magic need to recover before they take any steps forward.
"Defense is going to be the foundation," Jamahl Mosley said after practice Thursday. "That's not introducing anything new. Understanding how we need to run is something that maybe a little different concept. But being more efficient in how we run. But it all stems from how we get stops to get out and run. In that Atlanta game, we weren't getting any stops, so we weren't able to get out and run. That's the same foundation we are going to keep hitting home on."
Finding the right way
There is a sense of confidence still with this team. They understand how early in the season it is and how much they still need to learn.
This team, to continue Jamahl Mosley's analogy, is still under revision.
Desmond Bane said their first practice since returning home was focused on defining roles and making it clear what the team needs to do to and re-establishing those foundations. Nobody want sto be still working on these basics, but her eality too is that there are a lot of changes.
The Magic put out a front that set high expectations for this group and this team. They have failed to meet them so far. Maybe those were premature. Maybe these are just growing pains.
"I talked with Jeff [Weltman] before the season started, and we talked a little bit today, too," Bane said after practice Thursday. "But I was just saying there is a decent chance it gets off to a rocky start because things are new and we're trying to put so much together in a short amount of time. It's a long season. I would rather be playing our best basketball in April and May rather than October. there is still a long way to go. We'll get there."
The Magic are still in rewrites, it would seem. They are still searching for the right formula and to cement their foundations.
But the team has to find a way to right the ship and break some of these puzzling habits. That is their only way to move forward.