The Orlando Magic are capturing the eye of individuals across the league.
The consideration of followers.
The consideration of pundits and analysts.
“Don’t sleep on the Orlando Magic,” Stan Van Gundy, the previous Magic coach and Turner analyst tweeted. “After beating Philly on the street tonight the younger Magic are 15-11 within the final 26 video games after a 6-20 begin. The enchancment has been phenomenal and [coach] Jamahl [Mosley] deserves a ton of credit score.
And after their 119-109 comeback win over the Philadelphia 76ers (32-17) on Monday at Wells Fargo Center after trailing by 21, the eye of coaches and opposing coaches.
“Teams got to take us [seriously],” Paolo Banchero stated on ESPN’s NBA Today after having 29 factors within the win over the 76ers. “We’re really talented. We’re a tough matchup for a lot of teams. They’re going to have to keep taking us [seriously].”
Although the comeback was mathematically unbelievable, it wasn’t an aberration regardless of the Magic’s 20-31 file.
They’ve performed as much as the competitors for many of the season, particularly just lately.
The Magic are 15-15 during the last two months — when Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony returned to the lineup within the Nov. 30 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
They’re 15-12 of their final 27 video games, when Anthony and Fultz had been now not enjoying on minutes restrictions.
Within that stretch, the Magic are 10-6 towards groups with a file of .500 and above on the time of the matchup.
This consists of three wins over the league-best Boston Celtics (Dec. 16 and 18 and Jan. 23), together with two on the street, and the win over the 76ers. They’ve additionally had shut losses to the West-leading Denver Nuggets and the East contending Milwaukee Bucks.
“We can play with anybody,” Banchero stated. “We can beat anyone. We’re an excellent staff. We simply should study to place this effort out each single evening.
“We beat all the good teams. We’ve got to be able to take this game and apply it to the next game, no matter who it is. That’s what I think we struggle with a little bit.”
Even in wins or moments of progress, the Magic present their inexperience and lack of consistency.
They had a gradual begin towards the 76ers as their defensive depth cratered earlier than they picked it again up within the second quarter. A gradual begin was a part of why they misplaced Saturday’s residence sport to the Chicago Bulls.
Greater consistency is required to “level up” much more — the staff’s mantra for the reason that preseason.
In that very same aforementioned 27-game stretch, the Magic are 5-6 towards groups who had a file of beneath .500 on the time of the matchup. They’ve had season-long struggles with back-to-backs.
Fultz maintains a better self-belief and focus will result in extra constant play.
“We’re not competing against other teams, even though we are, we’re competing against ourselves,” he stated. “We bought to all include the best mindset and simply proceed to purchase into doing it collectively and having togethernesses on each ends of the ground.
“But more importantly, on the defensive end not giving away silly fouls, really locking into the gameplan and playing our game. That’s our biggest thing. As we continue to move forward, we’ve got to try to do that from the beginning of the game.”
The Magic will play the 76ers once more in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Starting massive man Wendell Carter Jr. was listed as questionable on Tuesday’s damage report due to strained proper plantar fascia — the gentle tissue below the foot.
Carter missed 18 of 19 video games from mid-November by way of late December with the damage.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com