By John Denton
Jan. 31, 2015
ORLANDO – Right now, an Orlando Magic team desperate for a win of any kind is dreaming about the potential powers that one victory could have for the squad.
Just two weeks ago, the Magic were seemingly riding high and feeling good about themselves after impressive defeats of the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets. But what followed was a hard-fought loss to the Memphis Grizzlies – a game where the Magic impressively led at the half – and it sent them into a tailspin that now includes seven straight losses.
Orlando (15-34) is hoping that if it can pick up the pace against the aging Dallas Mavericks (31-17) that it can break out of the funk that has engulfed the team of late. The Magic have allowed their last 11 foes to score at least 100 points and turnovers and more defensive breakdowns led to Thursday’s one-sided 115-100 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Also, Orlando has dropped seven of its past eight games at the Amway Center.
If they can find a way to beat the Mavericks in Orlando – something that has been difficult to come by in recent years – the Magic believe the feel-good vibes could do wonders.
``Without a doubt, you can see (the power of a win) across the board in this league,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``That just shows you the confidence level of men in this league and how they still need momentum. You can pick five teams right now that got one win and then won six or seven in a row.’’
Dallas completely turned around its fortunes in Miami on Friday night, using a 37-2 stretch in the second half to come from behind to rout the Heat 93-72. That snapped a four-game losing streak for a Mavericks team that has surprisingly struggled since acquiring all-star point guard Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics.
Through the years, the Mavericks and superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki have given the Magic fits regardless of whether the games are in Orlando or Dallas. The Mavs have beaten the Magic five straight times and in 17 of the past 22 games. Also, Dallas has won eight straight times in Orlando, and nine if including the one-sided preseason game against the Magic back in October.
Facing a squad that is one of the older teams in the NBA and is playing on the second night of a back-to-back set of games, Orlando is hoping to get back to its running ways. The Magic want to push the pace so that they don’t have to play against set defenses. Also, the athleticism of Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton should allow the Magic to put themselves in position for easy baskets.
But being able to run comes with one caveat: The Magic must get stops before being able to push the ball in transition.
``To get out and running you have to get stops. That’s the key thing,’’ said Gordon, the fourth pick in last June’s draft who has started the past three games at small forward. ``(Milwaukee) made a lot of shots last game and it makes it harder run when you have to get (the ball) out of the net as opposed to getting a rebound and pushing it up the floor. We just have to focus on that and getting the ball up quicker.’’
A big key to Orlando’s running game is Harris, who sprints up and down the floor as hard as any player on the Magic. The versatile forward was in the midst of his best season in the NBA before spraining his ankle in Los Angeles three weeks ago.
Before sitting out five games with the injury, Harris averaged 18 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 47.1 percent shooting and 40.5 percent 3-point shooting. Following the injury, Harris has been used off the bench for five games and his numbers have plummeted. His playing time is down some 10 minutes a game and he has averaged just 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 33.9 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from 3-point range off the bench.
Harris has mentioned that he has difficulty finding his rhythm in the Magic offense when playing fewer minutes. But he said that it was up to him to figure it out and do what he can to get the Magic back on track.
``I just have to get myself going and get out there and get some easy ones,’’ Harris said. ``For me, it’s just about continuing to play as hard as I can and stay focused. It’s just something that I’ve watched film on a lot from the last game. It’s just about me playing hard and it will come around for me.’’
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