When you talk about Orlando Magic basketball under coach Jamahl Mosley, a few words come to mind.
Toughness. Physicality. A grind-it-out mentality.
In a word, this is a team that put up a wall on defense.
Teams knew they were in for a fight. They knew that scoring would be at a premium. Seeing the Magic on the other end of the floor is supposed to be a warning of a hard night.
As the Magic tried to reshape their roster and change their team to step into contention and build around their two young stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the one thing the Magic believed they would be able to count on was their defense.
There will be bad nights during the course of the season. But at this early stage of the season, when the Magic are trying to establish themselves, losing any piece of this identity is concerning.
As Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe blew by defenders to get to the paint, as Kelly Oubre Jr. flew in for putback and offensive rebounds and as turnovers kept the Magic on their back foot, this is not the kind of defense the Magic would imagine.
This is a nightmare scenario as the Sixers defeated the Magic 136-124 to hand the Magic their third straight dispiriting and frustrating loss of the season.
"We've got to be better on both ends of the floor," Desmond Bane said after Monday's loss. "I feel like it's the small things, little details that are getting us beat. Some of our close outs, fouling, offensive rebounding, a lot of things that we talk about. We've just got to put them into action."
The Magic posted their worst defensive rating since the Kyrie Irving 60-point game in March 2022, giving up 136 points and a 137.4 defensive rating. The Magic could only rarely string together enough stops to give themselves a chance to breathe.
All Orlando could do was try to match the Sixers point for point. That is not who this team was ever meant to be.
If Orlando is going to right the ship and be the team they believe they can be, it starts with re-establishing the team's identity.
Identity on defense
Everything the Orlando Magic have essentially built over the last four years is geared toward defense. They loved Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner for their size and defesive versatility. They remained invested in Wendell Carter and Jonathan Isaac because of their defensive versatility. They drafted players for size and defensive ability like Anthony Black and even Tristan da Silva.
The Magic were built to be a defensive outfit that developed their offense, for better or worse.
That has been extremely good for the team. Led by Suggs' energy, the team has been one of the best defensive teams in the league for the last two years -- finishing third in defensive rating in 2024 and second in 2025.
Early on this season, the defense has been a mixed bag. The devastatingly bad game on Monday dropped the Magic from sixth to 15th in defensive rating in the league at 114.1 points allowed per 100 possessions.
The team was coming off its best defensive game of the season against the Chicago Bulls, giving up 102.8 points allowed per 100 possessions. Because of the team's pace, the Magic are giving up more raw points, but Monday was the first game they gave up more than 110 points per 100 possessions.
That does not mean there were not concerns in the process.
"It is definitely not what we're used to. It hasn't been very good," Paolo Banchero said after Monday's game. "Giving up a lot of points. That's kind of what you give up when you speed the pace up. Teams are able to get out and run. Causes cross-matches and miscommunication, and stuff like that. We've just got to figure it out."
The Orlando Magic gave up 143.5 points per 100 possessions in losing its fourth-quarter lead in the loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Similarly, they gave up 140.0 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter of Monday's game.
The Magic struggled Monday, specifically forcing turnovers, one of the team's usual strengths. That was a sign of the team's frustrations on defense.
But it was details that cost them. They fouled a healthy amount -- giving up 32 free throw attempts in the game. They gave up 14 offensive rebounds for 22 second-chance points.
That opened the floodgates for the Sixers. The Magic never truly threatened the lead after Desmond Bane fouled Quentin Grimes on a three-pointer, another deflating play that halted a Magic run that drew the team within two points.
The defense never found its footing again.
When the defense stepped up
What perhaps is most frustrating then about the Orlando Magic's struggles is how clear it is the Magic can defend at a high level and what that does to the team.
The Magic trailed by as much as 15 in the third quarter. They would then buckle down and string together four consecutive stops and cut the lead to five.
The Magic did that with a Paolo Banchero and one, a Tyus Jones steal that led to a Banchero run out dunk and a Banchero pass to Anthony Black for a layup. All the visions the Magic had of converting their defense into offense came true. The Magic got stops, broke out and scored before the defense coudl get set.
It was a breathtaking and promising stretch of play. And it showed that despite sleepwalking through the first two and a half quarters, the Magic were good enough to rush back into the game and give themselves a chance to win.
They did it again in the fourth quarter when they cut the deficit down to two. They found their groove in that stretch and answered a run late in the third quarter to give themselves a chance to win.
Then they struggled again. They turned it over and gave the Sixers extra possessions and made uncharacteristic defensive mistakes that allowed the Sixers to pull away.
"I think that was the discipline that we have to have in those moments," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Monday's game. "Coming down, we got a couple of stops and we tried to make home runs plays. I think in those moments, we have to stay disciplined, that we lock into the game plan and understand exactly what we have to do in those moments. We chipped away by being solid, getting stops and getting out and run to convert on the other end."
Every time it felt like the Magic were building momentum, they stubbed their toe. And everything collapsed. That has been how this season has felt.
Orlando is seeking consistency on both sides of the floor right now. But the team could never imagine its defense would be under question. That was supposed to be the ultimate backstop.
Monday showed that even that is now up for question. This Magic team is searching for an identity it thought it already had.