Mantra for Magic: ‘We are fighters’

Solid efforts vs. good teams show they won’t back down

The Orlando Magic have an problem.

Actually, maybe it’s not the Magic’s problem. Perhaps it’s a problem for the rest of the teams in the NBA; the teams who look at the Magic on their schedule and think they can take a night off.

Sure, it’s only four games into the season and judging a team’s identity solely on the basis of a week’s worth of games is likely premature, but the Magic already seem to have sent a message.

Orlando forward Evan Fournier said it best last week after Orlando didn’t let an early deficit in the season opener against Miami faze them as they scrapped back to claim a victory.

“We’re not going Fournier said.

After getting blown out by 32 points at home against Charlotte on Friday, the Magic bounced back one night later and nearly knocked off a talented Philadelphia squad on the road. Then came Boston.

If teams expect Orlando to wilt under pressure, they are likely going to get results comparable to what the Celtics were handed Monday night at TD Garden. The Magic jumped on the Celtics, one of the favorites to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference this season, built an early double-digit lead and never trailed during the game.

Everyone at the Garden, the Celtics included, acted as if it was only a matter of time before the home team would wake up and take care of business.

There is one thing teams probably should not take for granted about the Magic this season, as Fournier said last week after the scrappy victory over Miami in the opener.

“We are fighters, man. That’s what this year’s going to be all about,” he warned.

NBA teams probably should take notice. Not that it’s a proclamation of championship proportion, but the Magic still want the rest of the league to know they are a team to be reckoned with this year. The Celtics found that out. On Boston sports-talk radio Tuesday morning, a day when one might figure the majority of air time would be spent focused on the Red Sox-Dodgers World Series opener, hosts were busy critiquing the Celtics.

“The Celtics lost to the lowly Magic last night,” one talk-show host bellowed.

Another one chimed in, “I don’t know what it is with Kyrie Irving, but he still does not look like himself out there.”

One thing that might have been wrong to just identity lay down,”