The Orlando Magic remain in an adjustment period.
Magic coach Steven Clifford said his team is still reeling from the loss of point guard Markelle Fultz to a knee injury and the recalibration process has not been particularly smooth.
So following four consecutive lopsided losses, Clifford began looking for signs his team is on the verge of turning the corner.
It appears he got one Saturday.
The Magic looked more like a team with a purpose during Saturday’s 122-115 loss in Brooklyn — a departure from their four previous games that saw them lose by an average of 26.3 points and fail to crack the 100-point mark.
“Let’s be honest, and I talked about this candidly with the group today. The Markelle injury has taken a lot out of us,” Clifford said after Saturday’s loss. “We have other guys down, too, but tonight was the first time since the Cleveland game [when Fultz was injured] where I think that we started to find a belief in a way that we could play, so we have a chance to take a step forward.”
As Clifford pointed out, the roster is missing more than just Fultz. Starting shooting guard Evan Fournier continues to be hampered by lower back spasms and has missed the past eight games. Injuries to Michael Carter-Williams (sprained foot) and Chuma Okeke (knee bone bruise) have further depleted the team’s depth.
Still, the 115 points against the Nets were the most the Magic have scored in the past nine games. Nikola Vucevic was a big reason why, as he finished with a season-high 34 points that included six 3-pointers.
Vucevic already has three 30-point games this season and leads the team in scoring (22.8 ppg). The Magic will continue to lean heavily on the veteran center going forward.
But looking back, Vucevic agreed that the effects of Fultz’s injury have run deep. Fultz helped the Magic win their first four games, with the team 5-2 before his injury. His teammates appreciated his unselfishness and style of play and were excited to be building more chemistry with him. Plus, Fultz’s teammates were happy to see him finding success.
“I think because you know he’s done for the year and I think we had a really good start and we felt like we could build upon that,” Vucevic said. “It was just a huge punch for us because you know he’s done [for the season]. It’s not like he’s coming back. If it would be like a month or two, you’re like, ‘OK. Eventually he’s going to get back.’ He’s out. It’s going to be difficult and we have to figure it out. We had something going well. Now after one play it was gone. It was just hard. Maybe a game or two after that, it took us a little bit, but now it is what it is. We have to move forward and try to win as many games as we can without him.”
The Magic (6-7) have yet to win a game without Fultz. His absence has forced rookie point guard Cole Anthony into the starting lineup and put more offensive responsibilities on forward Aaron Gordon. The Magic are using Gordon as a primary ballhandler and his short time in that role has been encouraging.
Clifford said the bigger challenge is putting players in places so they can turn individual success into collective success.
“We have to have a way that we can play with this group, minus Markelle, where they experience success before we’re going to be able to take a step forward, and this is where the lack of practice time is really coming into play,” Clifford said. “So I’ve got to find better ways to help them and go from there. The reality is we don’t have a lot of room for error and that’s fine. There are a lot of other teams in that same boat.”
The Magic’s current course includes a five-game losing streak and they’ll try to end that skid Monday in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. It is one of nine games in the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day lineup. The game tips off at noon and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida and NBA TV.
It will pit Clifford against friend and mentor Tom Thibodeau, who’s in his first season with the Knicks. The teams are scheduled to meet again Feb. 17 in Orlando.
The Knicks (6-8) are coming off a 105-75 win Sunday over the Boston Celtics, who beat the Magic 124-97 on Friday.
While the Knicks rank 29th in the NBA in scoring (101.3 ppg), they do their best work on defense. New York is second in opponent points per game (104.1), fourth in opponent field-goal percentage (44.0%) and first in opponent 3-point percentage (31.2%).
Julius Randle leads the Knicks in scoring (22.9 ppg), rebounding (10.6 rpg) and assists (6.5 apg) while shooting 50.2% from the field. New York has eight players who average at least 8.3 points a game, including former Magic point guard Elfrid Payton (13.2 ppg).
