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Magic Focused on Staying Positive Despite Recent Rough Patch

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonDec. 23, 2014

ORLANDO – Having the ability to battle through adversity, take a punch and keep on coming and weather whatever storms are brewing – the essence of sports, really – is the challenge ahead tonight for the Orlando Magic.

The Magic (10-20) come into tonight’s game at the Amway Center against the Boston Celtics (10-15) riding a four-game losing streak and a skid that has seen them drop six of the past seven games. The last loss was an especially frustrating one considering that it came at the hands of the three-win Philadelphia 76ers.

A common theme in many of the Magic’s losses of late has been the team’s inability to battle through tough times. When Orlando inexplicably went cold in Sunday’s second half, it saw an 11-point lead devolve into a shocking 14-point deficit because it was unable to get its offense or defense back on track. Similarly, the Magic lost a double-digit lead last week in a lopsided loss in Boston and they could never recover from a poor start against Utah last Friday in another home faltering.

So heading into tonight’s final game before a two-day break for the Christmas holiday, the Magic are focusing on trying to be a team that’s tougher mentally as they battle through the inevitable highs and lows that will come.

``When we feel (a bad stretch) coming on or we’re falling into that trap, something has to be done, whether it’s coach drawing up a play, somebody making a play or something somebody says, we have to stay positive,’’ Magic power forward Kyle O’Quinn said. ``We can’t let stuff affect us because we know how it can go downhill and lead to losses. We haven’t done well with that and it’s one of the things that we have to work on.’’

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said he will stick with the same lineup – Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton at the guard slots, Nikola Vucevic at center and Tobias Harris and O’Quinn at the forward spots – tonight against the Celtics. Vaughn inserted Payton and O’Quinn into the starting lineup before Sunday’s game because it gives the Magic more of a defensive mentality and it moves Oladipo to his natural role as a shooting guard. Also, having Evan Fournier and Channing Frye in reserve roles it gives Orlando more offensive firepower off the bench.

Despite the new starting lineup, Orlando still trailed after the first quarter. But that lineup played well in the second quarter and it helped the Magic open up an 11-point lead midway through the third period.

``I thought it gave us a little bit better balance in our first and second group,’’ Vaughn said. ``With having Evan and Channing come off the bench, it gives a little different look preparation-wise for other teams. And I thought Kyle and Elfrid gave us some physicality in the first group.’’

The Magic will be facing a vastly different Celtics team than the one that whipped them 109-92 last week in Boston. The Celtics dealt all-star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks for a package of players and picks that included former Magic standout Jameer Nelson. Nelson, one of only two players ever to spend 10 seasons in a Magic uniform, is coming off the bench for the Celtics and wearing No. 28 instead of his familiar No. 14. Boston’s No. 14 is retired in honor of Hall of Famer Bob Cousy and Nelson chose No. 28 because it is a number his son has worn in youth sports leagues.

Nelson was back in Orlando in October with the Mavericks, and he missed much of the video tribute that the Magic played to honor his playing career and service in the Central Florida community because he was involved in the diagramming of a play during a timeout. Nelson did hear the cheers from Magic fans and said if the same video plays again he will try and soak it in this time around.

``I’ll look at it this time,’’ Nelson said. ``The first time I couldn’t do it because Coach was drawing up a play. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I was supposed to leave the huddle or just look at the play, so I kind of just froze.’’

The Magic hope to avoid freezing up tonight when adversity ultimately hits at some point during the game against the Celtics. Last week in Boston, Orlando led 47-37 before the Celtics closed the half with a 19-6 run that put the Magic in a hole that they couldn’t recover from.

Vaughn told his team that there was a time early in the season when it showed tremendous resiliency, bouncing back from bad plays during games or bad losses with solid showings the next time out. The challenge now, he and several of the Magic players said, is finding a way to get back to being a mentally tough team that can survive lulls during games.

``The biggest thing for us right now is playing competitively, playing like it’s your last game out there and having fun with your teammates,’’ Magic forward Tobias Harris said. ``Early in the season we were doing that and getting everybody involved. But lately we’ve been letting our offense dictate our defense and with the good teams in the NBA it’s the other way around. So we have to get tougher in that aspect.’’

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