Fans were treated to some pure magic this weekend. Orlando came home after a long road trip to win back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets, respectively. They now sit in the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 spot.
With the playoffs still very attainable, a closer look at the numbers brings up the question — why does Orlando lose to sub-par opponents while showing up against some of the best?
A post on Reddit pointed out Orlando's record against the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat is 8-2. Their record against the Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns is 1-5.
Inconsistency is an understatement when looking at a split like that.
Just two weeks back — against Charlotte — head coach Steve Clifford spoke on the team's lack of consistency. “We got to be able to come out and play a similar game,” Clifford said.
Then just two days ago, Magic center Nikola Vucevic reiterated the sentiment on the team still learning to be consistent, in both their mindset and play.
“The feeling that we have now compared to two days ago — it's not even close. It's just the way this league is,” Vucevic said. “There's so many games in such a short amount of time, and things can turn around quickly. That's why you cannot ever get too high or too low.”
Trade Deadline
But with a roster of role players and young athletes chosen more on potential than production, is consistency even possible? Priority should be finding a true point guard to lead this team. D.J. Augustin has been above par this season, relative to expectations, but is nowhere near the caliber of point guard a team like this needs.
ESPN's senior NBA Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, tweeted this week that the Dallas Mavericks are increasing their efforts to trade Dennis Smith Jr. The Orlando Magic have engaged them in talks, along with the Phoenix Suns, according to Woj.
It could be franchise-changing if Orlando can pull this off without trading one of their prized big men. A package of Evan Fournier and/or Terrence Ross with a protected first-round pick could make things enticing for the other side.
The Magic expect to be active heading into the trade deadline this year. Wins like the ones this past weekend against the likes of the Celtics and Rockets can often force a team to re-assess its priorities — whether it's a near-term move to push this roster into the playoffs vs a long-term play to build through the draft.
And with matchups against the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets (twice), Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards in the next 10 days, the playoff hopes could become a reality if they can figure out a way to beat the teams they ought to.
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