The Orlando Magic’s 2-7 start has left plenty to sort through, but Sean Sweeney isn’t spending much time dwelling on the record. The first-time head coach is looking for the pieces his team can carry forward, even in a season that has opened with more frustration than anyone around the team expected.
Heading into Monday’s games, Orlando sat 12th in the Eastern Conference, with only the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks behind them. The Magic still haven’t won at home, and the numbers tell the story of a team struggling on both ends: opponents are averaging 115.7 points per game, while Orlando is putting up just 106.7.
There were always going to be questions about health, and there were always going to be growing pains with a new coach in place. Right now, the Magic are dealing with all of it at once.
Still, Sweeney pointed to a few things that stood out in the right direction during recent losses. In Saturday’s defeat to the Golden State Warriors, Orlando controlled the glass 57-42 and limited itself to 14 turnovers that led to 10 Golden State points. That was a clear step up from Thursday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, when the offense coughed it up 25 times and those mistakes turned into 36 points for Phoenix.
The Magic also generated 26 points off the Warriors’ 19 turnovers.
After Monday’s shootaround, Sweeney said he was especially pleased with the rebounding effort, calling it phenomenal. Even with Stephen Curry going off for 41 points, he also liked the defensive activity, particularly the way Orlando forced turnovers.
That doesn’t change the fact that the team is losing, and there are no moral victories in the standings. But Sweeney believes the Magic can build on the things they are doing well if they keep making the right plays defensively, protect the ball and make sound decisions on both ends.
For him, it comes back to identity. Sweeney has talked since taking the job about forming the right habits, and he wants Orlando to stay anchored in that approach even as the losses pile up.
The problem is that the identity still has to show up consistently on the court. In defensive rating, the Magic are a bottom-five team, and while they may know what they want to be, they have not proven it yet.
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Suggs is set to miss his seventh consecutive game when the Magic meet the Sacramento Kings, adding to a stretch in which Orlando has also had to manage Paolo Bancheros right high ankle sprain. There is at least one encouraging sign in the form of Desmond Bane returning to practice after an illness, but the bigger question remains when the Magic will finally get Suggs back in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]