Before Tuesday’s Orlando Magic game against the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Scott Skiles called the game a must win. He did so again against the New York Knicks on Friday. He will likely do the same ahead of tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Amway Center.
In both Tuesday and Friday’s game, Skiles and the Magic did not see the kind of effort they would want. Especially with the stakes so high. The Magic were lethargic and inattentive to their defense. Only the Knicks would make them pay with a “heartless” effort in that game.
The reality is though that Skiles is right. For the Magic to make up ground in the Playoff race and stay in that conversation, they have to win these kinds of games. And do so with the right effort. The team cannot rely on getting “up” for big opponents like the Golden State Warriors. It has to take care of business against lesser opponents like the Philadelphia 76ers.
There are just not many opportunities for these kind of games against teams struggling outside the playoff race like the Magic are.
Alex Horvath of Orlando Magic Daily broke down the rest of the Orlando Magic’s schedule and counts nine games the Magic “should” win against weaker opponents. Teams like Philadelphia and Phoenix at home this week should be wins. And the Magic have to do their best to count upcoming games against Brooklyn, Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers as wins too.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed for the Magic. They have had some bad losses this year, including one to the 76ers at home.
Skiles set a goal for his team to win 20 of their final 30 games exiting the All-Star Break. So far the Magic have gone 2-3 since the break. There is a long way to go just to get the 16 more wins it will take to get to 41-41.
Being optimistic, it is certainly possible for the Magic to get to 41-41 if they win some of the toss-up games or get a few steals, but games like Sunday and Friday, the Magic simply have to win. A game like Friday’s against the Knicks had to be one where the Magic simply played better.
The Magic have not been able to count on wins since that horrible January where they went 2-12. Even games against the 76ers are not guaranteed. It certainly was not Tuesday. The Magic still need to play with a more focused and concerted effort against these teams to win.
And it has been a while since the Magic even blew a team out and won relatively comfortably. This is a team involved in a lot of close games and that creates a lot of variability.
The Magic have fallen off the pace and now sit five games out of the final playoff spot.
That kind of a comeback is not impossible with this few games left. But the margin for error is still very very small.
And Skiles knows this. Thus the must-win moniker for games against the 76ers. For the Magic to have any hope, they have to win these games.
