Magic not losing sight of the bigger picture even as play-in hopes fade
So even as they walked off the court and left Amway Center after their dominant 128-102 win over the Detroit Pistons knowing their chances of making the play-in tournament diminished, they did so without losing sight of the bigger picture: development and growth that can extend beyond this season. The Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets to ensure the...
The message inside the Orlando Magic’s locker room hasn’t changed.
So even as they walked off the court and left Amway Center after their dominant 128-102 win over the Detroit Pistons knowing their chances of making the play-in tournament diminished, they did so without losing sight of the bigger picture: development and growth that can extend beyond this season.
“We put ourselves in a great position this year,” Jalen Suggs said. “We had a slow start, but we bounced back, went on a winning streak, really played well and kind of just made a name for ourselves now. The Magic aren’t the Magic of last year where it’s ‘we’ve got a free win coming in here’ [or] ‘this team is in a complete rebuilding process’. We’re winning now.”
The Magic’s win over the Pistons was their sixth victory in eight games and their largest margin of victory this season.
They’re 29-25 since Dec. 5 — No. 11 in the league over that span — after starting the season 5-19.
But results from other Sunday matchups made every Magic game for the rest of the regular season must-wins to keep their play-in hopes alive.
The Toronto Raptors (39-39) beat the Charlotte Hornets to ensure the Magic couldn’t finish the season higher than No. 9 in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Chicago Bulls (38-40) beat the Memphis Grizzlies to move one game closer to securing a spot in the play-in.
The Magic are four games behind Chicago for the No. 10 seed in the East, but Orlando’s “magic” number is one, meaning the Magic would be eliminated from play-in contention with the Bulls’ next win or the Magic’s next loss.
The Nos. 7-10 seeds in each conference compete in the play-in tournament for the Nos. 7 and 8 spots in the playoffs.
The Magic (34-44), the lone team in the East that’s currently outside of the play-in that hasn’t been eliminated from postseason contention play, the Cleveland Cavaliers (49-30) Tuesday and Thursday at Amway Center.
The Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks in Chicago Tuesday. Both teams have postseason stakes on the line.
“Regardless, we’re going to continue playing to win,” Suggs said. “I said it last week before our road trip, I’ll say it again: we’re not playing this game to just go out there…We’re going out to win, night in and night out.
“We’re playing well. Continuing to keep that up, regardless of whether [the Bulls] win, don’t win…we’re going to continue to play to win, continue to fight for that spot. If we don’t get it, we don’t get it. If we do, play-in tournament, which would be great. But continue to do our thing.”
Orlando’s matchup against Cleveland will give the Magic another opportunity to play against a team who are playing for something — playoffs seeding or qualifying — down the season’s stretch.
The Cavaliers are the No. 4 seed in the East but could move up to No. 3 or fall to No. 5 depending on how they close the season.
These types of games, multiple players and coaches have said, have helped their growth.
“Continue to take it one game at a time, continue to get better [and] continue to compete,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We’ve competed all year long. No matter the score, no matter what the circumstances are, we continue to compete night in and night out. How do we get better and how do we play our best style of basketball at this point in the season?”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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