The Orlando Magic lost to the Brooklyn Nets 117-115 Friday night at home as they once again blew a double-digit lead. It was the fourth time in the last eight games the Magic squandered a lead of more than 15 points.
Orlando now leads the league with 11 double-digit leads lost this season.
11 games with double-digit leads blown in just 44 games. In the 2017-2018 season, Orlando had 10 such blown leads.
Blowing leads like that at this sort of a rate is a recipe for constant disappointment sitting a few games back from the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference
“We lost because we didn’t do a lot of the little things that we need to throughout the game,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic said after Friday's loss. “We had the lead, we had things going our way but we didn’t finish the game off. Our defense didn’t sustain for 48 minutes. Offensively, we had stretches too where we didn’t play when it worked for us. The same things that happened. It’s tough because we know we can be better than that.”
Article Continues BelowOrlando ranks No. 12 in the league in average first quarter margin, and No. 27 in the league in average fourth quarter margin.
Looking at the roster, much of this inconsistency stems from the roster having no true floor leader. Their best overall player is Aaron Gordon; Vucevic is their best weapon on the offensive end; Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac show plenty of potential to be part of the core for the future, and guys like Terrence Ross and D.J. Augustin are above average role players.
What's lacking, however, is a true superstar and/or leader. Orlando has made it clear they're active in trade talks approaching the trade deadline, and understandably so. The roster is flawed and it needs some sort of a change — ideally at the point guard spot — to turn away from the trend of consistently blowing leads.
The Magic host the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night in a home back-to-back.