No one was celebrating the Orlando Magic clinching a Play-In spot on Saturday afternoon when the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
This team has come a long way from a few years ago, when the postseason was a novel goal. They had big dreams last year, but injuries derailed them. They returned with bigger dreams this year. And it is not just injuries that have them down in the dumps.
This team understands what is at stake and what lies ahead. That is what makes losses like Sunday's 52-point shellacking to the Toronto Raptors so painful.
This Magic team knows what success looks and feels like. Yet, they have been unable to grasp it all season. Sunday's loss was a sobering reminder.
And the only response for now is to get back to work and try again in Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns. This is a Magic team seeking an identity even 70-plus games into the season. And they are still searching for answers.
The Magic know they have dropped the ball, and they have only eight games to salvage something from this season.
"It's our present reality, you can't do anything to change it," Jalen Suggs said after shootaround Tuesday. "Is it ideal? Absolutely not. Top to bottom, it's the worst feeling in the world, not only playing like this and losing games, but knowing the city was ready and waiting.
"I think as a collective, if you go and bow out now, it says a lot about your character. I don't think we have those types of guys in here. Really just trying to keep looking for ways to improve and ways to get better."
The Magic have left a lot on the board this season. It feels, to a certain extent, that all they are doing is playing for pride.
But that too will tell a lot about this team and its focus. It will say a lot about whether the Magic can even make the Playoffs and avoid the humiliation of tumbling into the Lottery in a season they do not hold their own pick.
The Playoff situation
Entering Tuesday's game, the Orlando Magic's path out of the Play-In is nearly impossible.
Having lost the season series to the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks, they would need to go 8-0 to pass both teams if they even go .500 the rest of the way. To pass the Philadelphia 76ers, who also won the tiebreaker, the Magic would need to go 5-3 or 6-2 to beat them if the Sixers finish .500 the rest of this season.
Orlando needs to turn things around quickly if the team wants to climb out of the 8-seed. There is a lot of ground to make up and very little time to make that up. And the Magic will need some help.
But for the Magic, it is not even about catching the other teams. It is about winning a game and building momentum. The Magic are trying to regain their footing.
Sunday's loss was the team at rock bottom (they hope). In the last eight games, Orlando has posted a 125.4 defensive rating. That is the big reason why the team has gone 1-7.
It is no wonder the vibes seem off.
"Body language carries. How you approach the game, whether you make a shot or miss a shot, make a rotation or miss a rotation, you can't let it compound," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround on Tuesday. "Win or loss, your energy stays the same. Your energy is contagious to how you show up every single day to your teammates and the coaching staff."
The Magic know that everything starts with them and their energy. That has been off as much as anything.
Looking for a solve
With just eight games remaining, the Orlando Magic have little time to get themselves right. They are still trying to put their pieces together and still trying to find their consistent energy.
The question after such a big loss is whether the team has given up and whether they will fight. If the Magic want to climb the standings and make the Playoffs through the Play-In, this team needs to find its fight and will again.
That is the biggest thing the team has lost.
"We got back to work," Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Tuesday. "The mood was you just got beat. You didn't play well. You didn't play your best basketball game. But you have to come back the next day and work. We worked today, and we'll see how we respond tonight."
Mosley said the team had an active shootaround and focused on defense. That has obviously been the area of the biggest slippage recently and the entire season. Orlando is not going to win much until the defense rounds back into form.
The Magic are hoping that they can respond. That has something this team has always done.
Orlando is certainly not where it hoped to be this season. But there is no changing that reality. The consequences will come as the season ends.
But the Magic still have something to fight for. Or, at least, they need to pretend that they do if they want to make the most of the rest of the season.
This team must still find a way to solve these issues.
Ultimately wins will help solve these problems.
"Not only do we have to continue applying things and improvements, but we've got to win, quite frankly," Jalen Suggs said after shootaround Tuesday. "Yeah, we're in the Play-In regardless, to settle for that can't happen. We're not a Play-In team. We don't want to settle for strictly being a Play-In team.
"We have eight more reps and live opportunities to apply the things that we're trying to talk about and trying to work on and to go get a dub. Just come out with energy and prepare ourselves for the Playoff series that is on the way. That's all we can do."
How the Magic respond to Sunday's loss will say a lot about their character and about whether they truly want to fight for the rest of this season.