Orlando Magic: 5 biggest disappointments from 2017-18 NBA season
By Luke Duffy
3. The continued losing streaks
2017-18 was once again a season in which there was a lot more losing done than winning. Somehow, the longest win streak they managed all year was three games (twice).
Even with their long forgotten 6-2 start, the Magic couldn’t put more than three wins together. Compare that with the losses though, and it gets a whole lot more depressing. In November, they lost 11 out of a possible 14 games to all but end their playoff hopes before Christmas Day.
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Their longest losing streak was nine games (twice), and at one point they lost 16 out of a possible 17.
Again, this was not when the team was actively trying to lose games. The Magic couldn’t even do that properly, winning their last game of the season against the Washington Wizards.
So despite all the negativity that comes with losing, they only have an 8.8 percent of landing the first pick in this summer’s draft as well.
Taking a beating like this isn’t worth it, and the atmosphere in the crowd and around the team suffered hugely as a result.
A small step in the right direction next season would be avoiding as many massive beatdowns that occurred on a regular basis as happened this year.
Two losses — a 37-point drubbing by the Charlotte Hornets and 36-point hammering by the San Antonio Spurs — rank in the 16 biggest losses in franchise history ever. Ouch.