The All-Star Game is now over. Everyone can exhale a bit and enjoy a few more days of vacation.
When the Orlando Magic gather at the airport on Tuesday afternoon to fly to Sacramento, they will begin the sprint to the end of the season. They have 29 games to write the end of their season and salvage something from a season that can only be described as frustrating.
Their task is clear: Make up the final 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers and avoid the Play-In. That will be of some solace for a season that has struggled to find its footing. That is the goal that is in front of the Magic.
Orlando is in a somewhat better position than it might seem.
The team has played one fewer game and is one game behind the Sixers in the loss column. The Orlando Magic have played two fewer games than the 5-seed Toronto Raptors and are two games behind in the loss column.
The Magic have lost the season series to the Sixers. They still have one more game against the Raptors in Toronto on March 29. A win there would give the Magic the season series victory over the Raptors and the tiebreaker.
Homecourt advantage is unlikely at this point with the Orlando Magic trailing the Cleveland Cavaliers by five games and four games in the loss column. The two teams still have two more meetings remaining.
The goal then is to avoid the Play-In. And it is still possible for the team to do so.
The question then is what will it take to reach that goal? What do the Magic have to do to get there?
There is a clear win target to reach to get it. It is in the Magic's grasp.
The Current Pace
The Orlando Magic have 29 games remaining. And all they can do is to take care of their own business. All the Magic can do is accumulate as many wins as possible the rest of the way.
What they might need is a target to reach for.
The Philadelphia 76ers are currently 30-24 with a .556 win percentage. That puts them on pace for about 46 wins. The Toronto Raptors are at 32-23 with a .582 win percentage, putting them on pace for about 48 wins.
A fair target to win the 6-seed then would seemingly be 47 wins.
For the Magic to hit 47 wins, they would need to go 19-10 for the rest of the season -- a pace of 54 wins for the rest of the season. That would be quite a turnaround for a team that has essentially floated at .500 for the past two months.
But that is closer to the 10-4 record the team had in November -- a pace of 59 wins for an entire season. The Magic need to have a revival like that once again.
Of course, this is not a straight line. If the Magic could turn it around, who is to say another team could turn it around? Or that another team could enter a severe slump?
Forty-seven wins may not be the number to reach, even if that is a fair goal to approach and rally to like the team did after the 2024 All-Star Break.
ESPN's Basketball Power Index currently projects the 6-seed to be 44 wins (still the Philadelphia 76ers). And they have the Magic close, finishing with 43.6 wins compared to the 76ers' 44.1 wins. It should be a tight race to the end of the season.
Basketball-Reference's Playoff Probability is less optimistic, predicting the 6-seed to finish with 44 wins too, but the final Playoff spot going to the Miami Heat. They have the Magic finishing eighth with 42.7 wins.
Close indeed.
At the end of the day, the Magic still need to prove they can string wins together. They might have a target in mind. But they need to reach it.
Forty-seven wins then would almost guarantee earning the 6-seed at least. Getting to 46 or 45 wins probably puts it in play, but is no sure thing. That makes the Magic's goals clear.
Overcoming the schedule
The Orlando Magic certainly hope they do not continue at the same win percentage they have had for the last few weeks. The team is hoping to change its story and its narrative. The team will need to find out if they are going to reach that goal.
Orlando has an advantage with more games remaining on its schedule. But the team will have to overcome a slightly more difficult schedule than its competitors in the race.
The Magic's opponents have a combined .497 win percentage, making it the sixth-easiest remaining schedule in the Eastern Conference. But the Philadelphia 76ers have a .492 win percentage remaining, and the Miami Heat have a .491 win percentage.
Those are slight differences. So the schedule may be immaterial.
Orlando has 14 home games remaining compared to Phialdelphia's 12 and Miami's 14. The Magic have a far better home record than both of those teams too at 17-9 inside the Kia Center.
This may come down to how the teams handle their games against the tanking teams -- the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans.
The Magic still have eight games against those teams, including four against the Kings and Mavericks. The Sixers also have eight, including both against the Jazz, while the Heat have only six remaining. The Raptors have seven of these games remaining and a .504 remaining win percentage.
At the end of the day, it still comes down to one thing: The Magic need to take care of their business.
Orlando does not control its own destiny. The team will still need some help. But no one can help the Magic quite like themselves.
Getting to 47 wins like the team did in 2024 would surely earn an escape from the Play-In. Getting to 45 or 46 wins would certainly put it in play.
It feels very doable for the Magic. And so the goal is now set.