The question for the Orlando Magic all season has been: What is wrong with this team?<\/p>\n
The Magic are 57 games into their season. You are kind of who you are at this point in the season. And the Magic are a team that has been searching for their identity and searching for consistency all season<\/a>.<\/p>\n They know who they are supposed to be — a gritty, determined defensive team that outworks opponents and grinds their way to victories. That is not who they have been. Not often enough.<\/p>\n If the Magic were going to make a Playoff push, it had to start with rediscovering this identity.<\/p>\n It has taken a while, but the momentum is building for the Magic<\/a> to find their way again. And the biggest example is how the Orlando Magic finished their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Magic trailed by one point with 30 seconds to play as Paolo Banchero set up the final possession.<\/p>\n The confident Banchero got the matchup he wanted and pulled up at the foul line for a jumper. It missed short. And that could have easily been the end of the story.<\/p>\n But it was not. <\/p>\n Anthony Black fought off two Lakers to get to the offensive rebound. It squirted out of his hands and fell right to Wendell Carter underneath the basket. He put up a layup with six seconds left that gave the Magic the lead.<\/p>\n They still needed the Lakers to miss on their final possession. But Luka Doncic passed up a deep three, and LeBron James could not hit his attempt. Orlando escaped with a 110-109 victory. The Magic had a gritty win.<\/p>\n “We just stuck together,” Banchero said after Tuesday’s win<\/a>. “We’ve been in a lot of close games this year. Having that experience has helped us out a lot just to stay poised, and everyone realizing they can make a play at any moment.”<\/p>\n That looked far more like the Magic expected. A selfless, gritty effort where everyone did what was needed to get the win. Whether it was that rebound, a Banchero scoring binge in the third quarter or a huge Desmond Bane three late in the game.<\/p>\n Orlando escaped looking far more like themselves than they have at any point this season.<\/p>\n Defense and grit make a stand<\/p>\n The Orlando Magic’s whole identity in the last four years has been about the team’s defense. Their effort and energy on that end must be constant.<\/p>\n More than anything, the lack of defensive grit and determination has been the concerning part this season.<\/p>\n This road trip saw the Magic’s defense make a major stand. And going up against the likes of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves was a huge test for the Magic’s defense.<\/p>\n The Magic held Doncic to just 22 points on 8-for-24 shooting, bottling him up and keeping him from finding much of an offensive rhythm, even if he still had 15 assists. LeBron James scored 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, but he had five turnovers.<\/p>\n Unlike other games where Orlando struggled to shoot, the team never let go of the rope or lost its defensive intensity. The team has been far more consistent on defense.<\/p>\n “I thought the group did a tremendous job of not letting shot making or missing impact our defense,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday’s win<\/a>. “Our guys stayed the course the entire game. Guys just found ways to have winning plays throughout this game.”<\/p>\n Tuesday’s game was another example, giving up 111.2 points per 100 possessions. It was the eighth time in the last 10 games the team gave up fewer than 115.0 points per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n In the last 10 games, the Magic are giving up 108.7 points per 100 possessions. On this road trip, the team gave up 104.9 points per 100 possessions. <\/p>\n They did not face many of the best offensive teams in the West on this road trip, but it has been a long time since the Magic were this consistent defensively.<\/p>\n “The maturity of this group is starting to show a lot more,” Wendell Carter said after Tuesday’s win<\/a>. “Sometimes the results aren’t always in our favor, but when the process is right, the results will come at some point. I thought we did a good job sticking to the gameplan.”<\/p>\n That is at least a place the team can start. <\/p>\n Paolo Banchero finds his groove<\/p>\n