Magic Report: Margin of error for making playoffs “slim,’’ Skiles says,
A victory against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night at Amway Center would give the Magic their 26th win of the season — the most in the post
Dwight Howard rebuilding process spanning nearly four seasons.
The Magic finished 25-57 last season. They were 30-62 the first season without Howard in 2012-13 and 23-59 in 2014-15.
While it’s certainly not cause to throw a parade, every win now counts heavily for a Magic team that hasn’t been this close to tracking the playoffs in this rebuilding time-frame.
They are 25-32 and were five games out of the eighth and final playoff spot before Saturday’s action.
After 57 games last season, the Magic were 18-39. They had been effectively knocked out of the race for a couple weeks following a 10-game losing streak spanning Jan. 16 to Feb. 4.
Coach Scott Skiles acknowledged that his team’s margin of error is “slim” if they have designs on the postseason. He said upon the Magic’s return from the All-Star break that the club would probably need to win 20 of its last 30 games to have a shot at making the postseason.
The Magic haven’t reached the playoffs since the 2011-12 season, falling in the first round to the Indiana Pacers.
Another ‘must-win’
Skiles is labeling another game as a “must-win” — the match-up with the league-worst 76ers, who already beat the Magic in Orlando this season.
Skiles can only hope his team responds better than it did Friday night in New York when they sleepwalked through a loss to the Knicks with so much on the line.
“When you have so many guys who haven’t experienced [the playoffs], you’re saying, ‘Guys, it’s important that you get there and it’s important for you.’ And more than that, it’s a lot of fun and the most fun time of the year, squaring off against the [same] team night after night,” Skiles said.
“But they’re just words until you go through [a playoff push].”
Bringing up Mario
Magic rookie swingman
Mario Hezonja won’t be getting playing time under Skiles just because he was the club’s No. 5 pick in the 2015 draft.
“What we’re trying to do with him — for lack of a better way to phrase it — is bring him up the right way. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Skiles said.
“There’s no entitlement minutes, not as long as I’m the coach. They’ll be no entitlement minutes. He’ll have to earn them. And that’s what we’re trying to impress upon him.”
Before playing 26 minutes on Friday night in a loss at New York, Hezonja watched his playing time shrink.
He played just nine minutes against Indiana, 11 against Philadelphia and 15 against Golden State.
Skiles said the acquisition of point guard Bran
don Jennings and the return of point guard C.J.
Watson have affected Hezonja’s minutes.
“What’s happened a little bit is that all of a sudden at the [trade] deadline, we ended up with two point guards. C.J. came back. ... I’ve been putting C.J. off the ball [at shooting guard],” Skiles said. “That’s eating a little into Mario’s minutes.”
Next up
The Magic face the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday to tip off the month of March, the first of 17 games over 31 days. They play eight back-to-backs in the month. The Magic host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at Amway Center.