There is one thing everyone knows when you play the Toronto Raptors.
They are going to pressure the ball. They are going to pounce on turnovers. And they are going to run on everything they can.
The Raptors are not some world-beater of a team, despite all the talent on the roster and their position in the standings. They simply know exactly who they are. The Raptors have a distinct identity. And as the postseason approaches, they are embracing it and running with it.
The Orlando Magic were supposed to know who they are. They were supposed to be about their defense. They were supposed tough and resilient. They were supposed to be a team that outworked everyone and did so with joy.
In an NBA-record 31-0 run in the first and second quarters, they saw all of that go away. Over the course of a blowout 139-87 Raptors win over the Magic, the Raptors led by as much as 56, sending the Magic to largest defeat in franchise history.
Toronto did everything that is part of its identity. The Raptors harassed and pressured the ball at all times. They forced turnovers -- 12 alone in the first quarter -- and got out in transition -- 26 fast-break points in the first half!
This is a team without an identity, and everyone is to blame for the Magic laying a dozen eggs in such a critical game. The Magic showed no heart and no intensity. All things this team was supposed to be about.
They got the result they deserved.
"It's hard to explain, hard to swallow," Desmond Bane said after Sunday's loss. "I think anybody that watched the game knows exactly why we lost. We didn't guard anybody. We turned the ball over 27 times. It just snowballed."
It has gone away throughout the entire season. The Magic have been unable to find their identity all season. They have been outplayed and outworked throughout the season.
And that is why the team finds itself in the disappointing position they are. This is a team without an identity. And without an identity, this team has no future.
Another aimless defeat
It did not have to be this way. The Orlando Magic seemed to approach the start of this game with the seriousness and intensity it required.
They got a quick eight points from Jalen Suggs and were able to use the Toronto Raptors' aggression against them to lead 20-14. That is the start the Magic wanted even if they still had turnovers to clean up and to improve their defense and the way they attacked the pressure.
That is when the Raptors' 31-0 run started, the longest in the NBA's play-by-play era. Orlando went scoreless for the following 7.5 minutes. The Magic committed 12 turnovers during that run before finally scoring.
That is what the Raptors live on. They force turnovers and get out and run. That is how they generate offense. And the Magic were making mistake after mistake.
"I have to do a better job preparing them for what they were going to see tonight," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's loss. "We talked a little bit about it, but probably not enough. I have to have them prepared for the physicality of the game. Prepared for how much they were going to grab, hold and get us off of our spots. That's on me. I've got to do a better job with this group, making sure they are prepared the right way."
The Magic committed 12 turnovers and gave up 18 fast-break points in the first quarter alone. They ended the game with 28 turnovers for 37 points and 39 fast-break points.
Toronto outscored Orlando 82-38 in the paint.
This is who the Raptors are. This is the way they have always played. They are a swarming, aggressive defensive team that chases teams down with turnovers and gets out in transition.
That the Magic were seemingly unprepared or surprised by that kind of pressure and led to mistakes that snowballed and ballooned only speaks to the aimless way the Magic played in such an important game. It speaks to how the team has lost so much of itself.
Where's the identity?
The Orlando Magic are supposed to be a tough-minded, resilient defensive team. They are supposed to play with intensity and ceaseless effort.
That is the reputation that they built in the last four years under coach Jamahl Mosley.
The problem for the Magic all season has been that they do not know what that identity is. They might know what it is supposed to be. But they have not played that way all season.
The game that played out on Sunday was the worst version of a game that has played out repeatedly throughout the season.
Just 10 days ago, the Orlando Magic took an eight-point first-quarter lead before getting run out of the gym in a 130-111 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets. They have had similar games where a good start gave way to a terrible defensive effort.
But the defense has completely collapsed. No one can call this their identity anymore.
Orlando gave up 120 points per 100 possessions just eight times last year. The team has given up 130 points per 100 possessions or more nine times this year and in three of the last four games, including 132.4 points per 100 possessions in Sunday's loss.
They have given up 120 points per 100 possessions or more in 25 games this season.
A team that was expected to be in the top five in defensive rating is currently 16th at 114.2 points per 100 possessions. The Magic have given up 125.4 points per 100 possessions in the last eight games.
At a time when the Magic are supposed to be rounding into form for the Playoffs, they are losing an identity that they may never have had this year. It is this betrayal that has the Magic in this predicament.
"I think you have to walk into games understanding the challenge, but always expecting to win," Desmond Bane said after Sunday's loss. "I think that there is a certain swagger that you have to have about yourself over the course of an 82-game season and have that belief, whether you are up 20 or down 20, you wouldn't be able to tell by the swag and the joy that we play with. We've had it in stretches, but we definitely don't have it right now."
The difference was not just the 52 points that separated the Raptors from the Magic on Sunday. It was the confidence and certainty of how to play that made the difference.
This lack of identity has cost the Magic everything this season. And not even their talent can make up for a lack of identity.