Orlando Magic: Reality Seeping In
By Luke Duffy
Don’t look now, but the Orlando Magic have lost six of their last seven games. Worse still, these damaging mental blows have come at a time when in theory their schedule was supposed to ease up somewhat.
After coming back from a five-game West coast swing in which they went 3-2, the home stand they are currently going through was meant to give them a chance to pad out their numbers and approach the .500 mark. Instead this team is 10-20, and where there was once cautious optimism, there is now that same old dreary feeling.
But how did all this negativity suddenly creep up on this team? Better yet, what can be done to change it?
We’ll start with the head coach, because to a lot of people it seems most of what has gone wrong is his fault. Looking at the most recent poor stretch as a sample size, it does appear Jacque Vaughn either reacts late to situations before they get out of hand, or is too stubborn to change things up when an approach isn’t working.
However, and in his defense, pairing Elfrid Payton with Victor Oladipo against the Philadelphia 76ers in the backcourt for the first time this season the other night is something we all would have done given the chance.
But guess what? It didn’t totally gel right away, and in the end Orlando lost a game they really should have won. Oladipo played well, scoring 23 points, while Payton was also pretty good too.
His six assists coming off some pretty plays, as he set the table for his teammates just as he has done all season. This was the tandem we all envisioned would play together this year, but injury to Oladipo and the emergence of shooting guard Evan Fournier as a flat out scoring threat derailed that idea.
Fournier was good off the bench against Philly, he seems to be pretty good no matter how you use him these days, pouring in 16 points.
But it seems there’s a genuine conundrum in the backcourt these days, with three players trying to fit into two starting positions. Payton and Oladipo had some good moments together, and combined they are a great two-way force, it’ll just take time.
Breaking them out for the first time against the worst team in the league is as good a time as any to try the pair out, and you’ve got to figure they’ll get more chances to play starters minutes together on the court.
Another reason for the team slipping off in recent times has been an apparent reversal of fortunes in terms of how they win games these days. Last year, Orlando only won four games away from home all season.
This year, seven of their 10 wins have come on their travels. This is a young team, but it still has a lot of confidence and swagger as a result of Tobias Harris and Oladipo.
If you watch them away from home, they attack the game and seem to enjoy making the home team feel uneasy and have their fans turn against them. Never was this more evident than on that West coast trip against the likes of the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.
The Magic won both of those games, and did it with an underlying confidence.
At home however, they look nervous and afraid of letting the fans down. Not that there are huge amounts to let down, but the team doesn’t play with the same freedom in AmWay Center.
Ironically enough, it’s two wins at home against Eastern Conference teams this season have come against the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, both currently in the playoff mix. So the Magic can get up for a game when they really want to.
Not to place the blame on anybody because this is a team sport and Orlando are a team not blessed with huge amounts of talent. But the Channing Frye experiment hasn’t really gotten off the ground so far. A standout performer for the Suns last season, it’s been a struggle for him here.
Having him out on the court is a hindrance pretty often, and defensively he lets his man go from time to time.
Add to that the fact he’s not even making his shots, the reason he’s primarily on the court (His points, field goal percentage and attempts are all down on last season, although the three point shooting is up) and he’s been a factor in the recent run of poor form.
All is not lost though. Frye came off the bench for the first time this season against the 76ers, and although he didn’t do much, having him lead the second unit could reap dividends down the line. The reliance on Harris and Vucevic becoming too much as well.
Great as they’ve been, and Vucevic could be an outside All-Star shout while Harris is surely in the running for Most Improved Player, they aren’t getting enough help. It’s a big year as well, there’s always the chance Harris could force his way out, although as a restricted free agent that seems unlikely.
So there you have it. Not exactly pretty reading for sure, but this run was bound to come at some point. It’s just kind of surprising that it’s now, while the team is in the midst of what is on paper an easier part of their schedule.
Three of their five games left this calendar year are against the Boston Celtics (home), Charlotte Hornets (away) and Detroit Pistons (home). You would think there are some wins in it for this team. They need to go on a small run quick to stem the bleeding, and keep pace with a playoff pack that is fading further into the distance as each game passes.