The Orlando Magic finally got the close win they so desperately needed.
After several close calls and frustrating beats, the Magic pushed through their mistakes and scratched out the win. Orlando called that timeout instead of turning it over on an inbounds and got the play for Nikola Vucevic to win the game.
That is progress right?
Progress really is only the next day’s pitcher. Tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta — a rematch of Sunday’s win — will be a proving ground for the team to try to take that next step up and match the effort that helped hold the Hawks to 60 points through three quarters and build a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
Much of the Magic’s entire season has been trying to figure out what this Magic team will be on a night-to-night basis. The schedule will do the Magic no favors as they try to break free from this losing stretch.
Predicting the Magic for any stretch or on a night-to-night basis is hard.
Over on Bang The Book Radio, I broke down the Magic’s current situation and we discussed how the Magic move forward as they play the Hawks tonight (appearance occurs at 59:45):
In the segment, I also talked about the New York Knicks’ situation with Derek Fisher and a few teams making pushes throughout the NBA.
We concluded talking about the Magic’s schedule heading into the All-Star Break and whether they could sneak a win past the San Antonio Spurs before the end of the deadline.
We also discussed the shifting nature of expectations.
The Magic would probably be very satisfied with a 22-28 record through 50 games. But how they got to 22-28 has certainly left a sour taste in everyone’s math and a sense of unease ahead of the trade deadline.
There is still a lot of growing to take place. The good news Sunday was the Magic got a win and got a few lessons they can take to the next game. Implementing those lessons will be a difficult task.
