Orlando Magic want to have fun, but have to play to a standard too

The Orlando Magic had a good moment in the second quarter. The Utah Jazz were like Swiss cheese with plenty of interior holes to exploit. And the Magic gave style to everything he did.

Cole Anthony crossed the lane and didn’t look at a pass to Moe Wagner cutting along the baseline for a dunk. A few possessions later, Jalen Suggs made a 3-on-1 fast break with Franz Wagner running alongside him, but he chose to glance past Moe Wagner for another dunk.

At one point, Franz Wagner, perhaps frustrated with the lack of fouls committed that night, was determined to get to the hoop and jammed it all over UCF alumnus Taylor Hendricks.

It was that kind of game early on where the Magic looked like they could get whatever they wanted. Their coach wants them to play with a certain joy and he wants that to shine through in everything they do.

But this is serious business. Things aren’t all fun and games anymore. There is something real at stake for this team. The Playoffs are clearly in sight in a grouped Eastern Conference. Every game matters.

Orlando doesn’t necessarily play against just one opponent, they play to a standard. A standard that will prepare them to compete for the playoffs.

Of course, the Magic will celebrate a gutsy 115-107 win over the Jazz. They will celebrate Jalen Suggs draining three huge 3-pointers in the final three minutes, including two to give the Magic a seven-point lead with 1:09 left in the game.

Every victory counts for this team. Results matter.

But that’s not how this team is judged. This team is judged on its readiness for the playoffs. More importantly, he knows it now.

“I think we’re very focused on trying to play to our standards as a team,” Paolo Banchero said after Thursday’s match. “We’re trying to build through the latter part of the season so that when the playoffs come around we can hit our stride as a team. February is coming to an end. We need to be locked in for the entire month of March and April. That’s when it gets real. Coach just said in there, we have a great win but we struggled in some areas – free throws and turnovers. “We have to meet our standards in this area. We realize that. We have to take it one game at a time. When the playoffs come, you want to hit it on all cylinders.”

No one will be disappointed with a victory. And the Magic continues to show its maturity by recovering to get these victories. Orlando still had to make its plays and show its determination to win.

After taking a 13-point lead in the second quarter thanks to these fun plays, the Magic suddenly found themselves in a shell. The Jazz went on an 11-0 run in the final 2:31, scoring two 3-point baskets and taking advantage of a late turnover to set up the final shot and trail by two at the break.

This was going to be a game and the Magic’s fun spirit turned into clear frustration as they couldn’t hit anything from the outside and couldn’t get separation.

The Magic’s mistakes only made the problems worse.

Utah went to the line for 10 free throws in the third quarter. Orlando turned the ball over nine times for 15 points in the third quarter to let Utah hang around and even take occasional small leads.

The Magic also left a lot of points on the board. They totaled 15 turnovers for 25 Jazz points and missed 10 of their 31 free throws. They were momentum killers that kept them from taking control of the game.

These are games that go against the playoff standard the team is trying to build.

“There’s a standard,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday’s game. “We say we were able to come away with a win, but we understand that we have to continue to hold ourselves to higher standards. Fifteen turnovers for 25 points won’t be enough. And missing 10 free throws won’t be enough. And as we continue to grow and improve – which this team does because they recognize that – we will continue to improve throughout this.”

Orlando is going to view a game like this as a learning experience. And they will recognize that despite the mistakes they made, they still came out victorious.

The Jazz scratched and clawed, making 16 of 37 threes (43.2%) thanks to turnovers and mistakes that set them up, to stay in the game. But they never withdrew.

Orlando, despite the turnovers and perimeter misses, still did a lot of the things the team needs to do to win.

The Magic won the paint 56-30. They held the Jazz to 18 for 43 (41.9 percent shooting) from inside the 3-point line. Utah had just a 110.3 offensive rating, well below its season average, and above-average defensive play for Orlando.

The Magic put a lot of good together. But they still had to eliminate the game.

The team ultimately came away in the clutch. Whether it was Paolo Banchero who scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to get Orlando through the choppy waters early on. Or if it was Suggs stepping up on three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for 10 points.

Or even if it was Suggs recovering from a bad miss on a 3-pointer to answer his second three-pointer with a block at the rim to help secure the lead and the victory.

This Magic team still makes a lot of winning plays. And they always do it with a smile on their face, indicating that they are enjoying this ride as much as everyone else.

“I think overcoming adversity and responding to it is the biggest thing to take away from tonight,” Suggs said after Thursday’s game. “Whether you’re not feeling good mentally, physically, whatever, taking care of the task at hand with this unit. And I think with the guys we have in the locker room, it’s easy to do that. We We’re very competitive. It’s a fun group, it’s a loving group. Everyone wants each other to succeed and ultimately the team to succeed.

This is the joy that the team does not want to lose. But it is also youth that still predominates in the team. The good times still give way to the struggle. Things can be tough for the team and even if the team wants to have fun, things still have to be serious. They always have to respond.

The team did it again and again. They have a heart and a resilience that belies their age. Against a struggling team like the Jazz, they might be able to get away with it.

The lesson they learn is that soon they will no longer have this margin for error. And now is the time to make sure they are playing at a level that will help them win when the playoffs begin.