Effort overcomes a lot.
That seems to have been the Orlando Magic's motto and ethos for the past two years. Whatever shortcomings they might have offensively, especially, they would make up for with sheer effort and defensive grit. This would exhaust their opponents and give them a chance to win.
That effort seemingly hides all the Magic's weaknesses. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner's individual brilliance creates and makes up for a lot this roster is missing.
One bad night will not derail this team's identity and mission. A healthy Orlando Magic team is a formidable force should the Magic face the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs.
Yet, it is hard to ignore what led to the dispiriting and frustrating 122-93 loss to the Bucks on Wednesday. A loss of this magnitude, where the Magic trailed by as much as 32 points and fell behind 34-16 after the first quarter behind a 19-0 run, forces the losing team to examine itself.
Losses of this magnitude say more about the losing team than about the winning team. And while the Magic will surely play better when they head back to Milwaukee in March to close the season series—and potentially in the playoffs—it is hard to ignore what this team struggled with without its typical try-hard energy.
This Magic team leans on its effort most of all. And without it all of their flaws are exposed.
"That wasn't our standard," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's loss. "That wasn't Orlando Magic basketball. Not even close. We'll have to talk about it and figure out what it was that didn't allow it to be that but it wasn't Orlando Magic basketball. The great part about this group is they always find a way to bounce back."
The shooting struggles
That biggest issue remains the team's shooting.
The Orlando Magic opened the game shooting 3 for 15 from the floor. They gave up a 19-0 run, going scoreless for more than five minutes. The Magic were down 34-16 at the end of the first quarter and never really made a push, getting the deficit down to 13 in the second quarter but then allowing it to balloon back to 20 before halftime.
The Magic ended the game shooting 34.7 percent from the floor and 12 for 46 (26.1 percent) from three. The 46 3-point attempts represented the eighth time this season the Magic took 45 or more threes in a game. Orlando is 3-5 in those games.
Worse still, the Magic were 2 for 14 in the first quarter. They were settling for threes. And for an Orlando team that is shooting the worst team 3-point field goal percentage in the last decade that is not a healthy formula.
Orlando needed to increase its 3-point volume and needed to remain confident shooting threes. But that is not this team's game. It is perhaps something the Magic need to address more forcefully in the next transaction windows to become a clearer contending team.
But it is not like the Magic cannot win without three-point shooting. It is what settling for those threes represents. It is the lack of energy and intensity not attacking the rim means for this team.
The Magic make up for their poor three-point shooting by attacking the paint and getting to the foul line. That too has at times been a struggle for this team.
Orlando scored only 32 points in the paint on 32 field goal attempts. The team tallied 21 free throws but only nine in the fist half and just two in the first quarter.
It almost did not matter what the Bucks did—7 for 12 from three, 54 points in the paint and 35 free throw attempts. This was about what the Magic were missing. Milwaukee clogged the lane and dared Orlando to shoot.
The Magic let the Bucks dictate the terms of engagement.
"We just kind of got out-physicaled tonight from the jump," Wendell Carter said after Wednesday's loss. "It was very easy for them on the offensive end. And then for us, we didn't apply any pressure. We settled for a lot of threes. . . . We settled a lot instead of moving it side to side. We just did a poor job walking into this game of applying pressure and making it tough for them on both ends of the court."
With Paolo Banchero—with seven turnovers in this game—still working his way back, the Magic did not have a clear way to attack the basket.
That remains a big issue for the team too. Outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Orlando lacks players who command double teams or can get themselves to the basket to force the defense into rotations.
Effort hides weaknesses
But the Orlando Magic's effort has always lessened those deficiencies. When the Magic say they are enough, they speak about their intensity making up ground for what they are missing due to injury.
They have to make up ground through offensive rebounds and scoring off turnovers. They have to make extra possessions wherever they can find them.
The Magic made up points in a lot of areas.
The Milwaukee Bucks forced 13 turnovers for 15 points. The Magic still forced 21 turnovers for 19 points, and five of them came in the second quarter when the team cut the deficit to 13. Of course, eight of the Bucks' turnovers came in the fourth quarter with the game already decided.
The Magic gave up only three offensive rebounds and grabbed nine of their own—granted the Bucks shot 62.5 percent for the game. They outscored the Bucks 10-3 on second-chance points (although the Magic were just 3 for 9 on second-chance field goals).
Orlando has a formula to win and get around the team's many shortcomings. But it all comes down to that thing that creates such a fine margin for error.
When the Magic cannot make shots and cannot get into the paint, they get themselves in trouble. The Bucks ran on all those long rebounds to score 22 fast-break points. Orlando lost contact and lost touch and could not reel Milwaukee back in.
And without consistent scoring to settle things down, the Magic fell behind too fast to be competitive. The missed shots took the Magic out of their defensive identity.
"We've always said we're not going to allow shot-making or missing to impact our effort or energy and that was not there tonight," Mosley said after Wednesday's loss. "We let some of that impact us. You have to start the game the right way with the right amount of energy and intensity. And tonight we looked like the team that was on the back-to-back. We played more energy when we had them on a back-to-back last time. Tonight was not that night. That was a good old-fashioned butt-whooping. That's what it was tonight."
These are known problems. Nobody is surprised the Magic have these issues. Their effort covers them up well.
But the fact the Magic did not play with effort was downright shocking. Orlando has bounced back from poor performances before to get hallmark wins. The Magic expect themselves to do it again.
That does not change what they know they will have to fix in the long run. Even when they are healthy, they will have to answer these critical questions.
At some point in the playoffs, effort is not going to be enough. The Magic will have to find an answer for these shooting woes and the things that put a wrench in their offense.