By John Denton
Nov. 26, 2016
ORLANDO – Losing, Frank Vogel said, takes a mental and physical toll on him, and the effects of the Orlando Magic’s disappointing three-game skid were noticeable on the coach’s unshaven, sleep-deprived face on Saturday.
But there was something that Vogel uncovered in the film study following Orlando’s 94-91 loss to Washington on Friday that provided him some peace of mind. And he relayed his optimistic message to the team before practice on Saturday.
``I believe we’re close,’’ Vogel said with conviction. ``We are fighting. It’s not perfect, obviously, or we’d be winning these games, but in three games in a row we’re two-or-three plays away from a three-game winning streak. Or, it would be a five-game winning streak.
``I’m proud of the effort that we’re playing with, but we’re not getting rewarded with some Ws,’’ Vogel added. ``Our guys are playing extremely hard and everybody’s attitude has been good and they’re pulling in the right direction, and that doesn’t always happen when you lose a couple in a row in this league.’’
Vogel’s words of encouragement had to be a ray of sunshine for a Magic squad clearly down about losing games to Milwaukee, Phoenix and Washington this week by a combined 12 points. The hope of the Magic (6-10) is that they will be able to find out how to get over the hump late in games and win starting Sunday night when they host Milwaukee (6-8).
Tipoff is just after 6 p.m. and it likely can’t get here quickly enough for an Orlando team desperate to shed a three-game losing streak as soon as possible. Orlando’s players heard Vogel’s message on Saturday, but they are still struggling with stomaching a losing streak where they felt they should have won all three games.
``It’s hard to feel good when you are taking losses like we have, especially against Washington,’’ Magic guard Evan Fournier said. ``You never feel good after any loss, but after watching the tape we saw that we did some great things. We scored (91) points so that’s a positive. But at the end of the day, that was still a loss.’’
Adding to the importance of Sunday’s game is the fact that it is last of a three-game homestand before the Magic hit the road for a difficult five-game, nine-day trip with stops in San Antonio, Memphis, Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington.
Also, Sunday’s game gives the Magic a chance to get revenge on a Milwaukee team that started their losing ways on Monday. Orlando twice led by 14 points early on in Milwaukee, but an avalanche of turnovers – 19 in the first half and 25 in the game – led to the 93-89 loss to the Bucks.
``We had a taste of what (the Bucks) are going to do, but so did they,’’ Fournier said of the rematch against Milwaukee. ``So they know what we’re going to do and how we’re going to defend them. But the key with Milwaukee is don’t turn the ball over because Giannis (Antetokounmpo) is probably the best in the league in transition. The guy is so long and so athletic that there’s just not much that you can do to stop him (on the fastbreak).’’
Backing up what Vogel told his team about being close in each of the past three losses, Orlando was in position to win in Milwaukee after being tied at 85 with 4:24 to play. The same could be said for Wednesday against Phoenix (down 76-75 with 5:32 to play) and Friday versus Washington (up 83-79 with 5:47 to play) only to drop both games down the stretch.
Poor shot selection, over-helping on defense and untimely turnovers have resulted in those close fourth quarters turning into losses. Clean up some of those issues and the Magic might be on an impressive winning streak right now, instead of riding a frustrating losing skid, Vogel said. The coach stressed that he wouldn’t give his team false hope if he didn’t believe it. Indeed, he feels that Orlando is extremely close to turning these crushing losses into inspiring victories.
``It’s important for a coach to be real and objective,’’ said Vogel, who is in his first season as the Magic’s head coach. ``If we were coming out and playing with poor effort, making repeated mistakes or doing things that are completely unacceptable and they need to be jumped, reprimanded or shaken up, then I’d be that way.
``But when you see that the effort and intensity are there – and I feel like I’m getting a genuine effort from these guys and they’re caring the right way – then that’s got to be highlighted,’’ he added.
Vogel turned to the final stat sheet from Friday’s loss to Washington to show his players the strides that they made and how close they are to tasting success. The Magic held the John Wall-fueled Wizards to eight fastbreak points; they limited a Washington team ranked first in the NBA in second-chance points to seven offensive rebounds; they didn’t carelessly foul, giving Washington just 10 free throw attempts all night; despite the drive-and-kick pressure applied by Wall, the Magic limited Washington to 20.7 percent accuracy from the 3-point line; and Orlando’s overall defensive rating climbed to seventh in the NBA.
Still, the frustration of losing takes its toll. Vogel said the constant struggle with trying to figure out ways to shake the Magic out of slumps is consuming around the clock. He’s encouraged that things will ultimately turn around for the Magic.
``Lose sleep, that’s what I do,’’ Vogel said. ``I rack my brain for any changes that need to be made or if change is even needed.
``But I’m very motivated to get this thing turned around and get it going in the right direction,’’ he added. ``I’m not happy with what our record looks like, but I believe in this group.’’
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