November was the month it went wrong for the Orlando Magic, but there are five keys to ensuring December doesn’t go the same way.
This time last month, the Orlando Magic were still one of the feel-good teams in the league, and they were playing like playoff hopefuls in the Eastern Conference.
Four weeks and two road trips later, however, those vibes aren’t quite as positive. Still, the Magic are 10-14 and doing their best to rise up the standings once more.
The team has already played two games this month, which weren’t included in this monthly outlook as they were to set the tone for how they would do until the turn of the year. With match-ups against the Golden State Warriors (at home) and New York Knicks (away), going 0-2 seemed like the likely result.
A predictable, yet spirited loss to the Warriors kicked December off but was followed by a win in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.
The Magic preceded both those games with an encouraging home with against the Oklahoma City Thunder in which they flashed many of the most positive areas of their game.
They’ve set themselves up nicely as the games continue to come thick and fast, so here are five keys to making this month feel a lot more like that 6-2 start the team jumped out to.