Something is wrong with the Orlando Magic.
They’re not playing well and don’t seem to have a definitive answer as to why. The Magic lost 99-93 to the New Orleans Hornets in a game that will be remembered for an unsatisfactory effort and many uncharacteristic mistakes down the stretch.
“Right now if you just look at the results, bottom line is that we can’t beat a good team,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’ve lost eight straight to teams that are over .500 and we haven’t been able to play at the level we need to play, to play teams like that; it’s going to have to change.”
Van Gundy wouldn’t place all of the blame on his team after the loss.
While he can’t shoulder the blame – or understand – some of the team’s late-game turnovers, he fully accepted responsibility for Dwight Howard’s lack of fourth-quarter touches.
“I was terrible tonight, by the way,” Van Gundy said. “We did okay in the third quarter so I stayed with all pick and rolls. [I showed] way too much confidence with our perimeter guys with the pick and roll game and I didn’t get Dwight the ball enough.”
“The free-throw shooting scared me off a bit, to be honest, but that’s not a good enough excuse. Especially the way our perimeter guys were playing in the fourth quarter, that ball should have been going into him. That’s my fault. I’m pissed at myself about that. I’m a little bit pissed at myself about substitutions, so I’m not just sitting up here angry at our players. I’m not happy with what I did.”
The Magic (34-21) are quickly fading.
Once believed to have a chance at winning the NBA championship, the Magic – currently fifth in the Eastern Conference – have lost eight straight games to teams with winning records, posting a 9-9 record over their last 18 games.
Clearly frustrated and concerned, Howard won’t allow the disappointing play to change the Magic’s goals. The five-time All-Star will continue to preach patience in the hope that his team will find their way before the playoffs.
“We’ll be okay, we just can’t panic,” Howard said. “We have to continue to be patient. I’m not going to lose any faith in what we’re trying to accomplish here as a team. Things are going to turn around; we just need to stick with it.”
By Jarrod N. Rudolph
