Orlando Magic: 5 keys to series vs. Raptors
By Luke Duffy
2. Ride the hot streak
It seems crazy to even say it given where this team was even last season, but the Magic established themselves as one of the hottest outfits in the league from January onwards. For the most part, they never let that sizzling form completely extinguish either.
At one stage they were 31-38, yet somehow managed to rally in a huge way to finish above .500 at 42-40. To even have a winning record after years of mediocrity is a big deal. They had the fourth-best record in the league from the end of January onward, and won 22 of their final 31 games to climb out of the hole they had dug themselves by losing to opponents they should have been beating.
Few organizations can claim to be on that kind of run going into the postseason, and even better, it doesn’t look like they’re coming down the other side of this purple patch either. Instead, it looks like they’ve figured out how to win the games they’re supposed to, and hang around to remain competitive, even when they’re having an off night.
This is huge if they stand any chance of giving the Raptors a series. It would be one thing to capitalize on their opponents having a poor game and taking advantage, which in and of itself is impressive. It’s quite another to stick around when you’re having a bad game against a superior opponent, only to grind out a win.
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This is an element to their game that the Magic added over the course of the season, and it was forged in those wretched losses to lottery-bound teams such as the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.
Their players are all in some sort of good form right now as well, to the point where even if one or two of them go cold once the series begins, others will be there to carry the load. It can’t be overstated how important beating a Hornets team fighting for the postseason lives without Vucevic and Isaac was either. It gave belief to role players, on a roster that is already rolling.