In some respects, the Orlando Magic did this to themselves.
They set the expectations high, speaking all offseason about their desire to win a championship and making a major splash in the trade market to make it feel attainable. Orlando did not hide from those expectations and the pressure that comes with it.
Pressure is a privilege, Jamahl Mosley liked to say during media day and training camp. Nobody is hiding from it.
Right now, everyone is feeling that pressure.
The Magic got off to a slow start as they learned to play together with a new offensive mindset and several key new players. They righted the ship only for injuries to hit and leave them scrounging to find their footing and rhythm again.
Everyone is wondering when will the Magic make their move? And what happens if they do not?
Friday's frustrating loss to the Chicago Bulls continued several troubling patterns. Orlando has blown a lot of fourth-quarter leads and failed to live up to its defensive rotation.
The offensive droughts have made it feel like the Magic have made no offensive progress. The whole collapse of the team's identity has pointed the focus on coach Jamahl Mosley. Angry fans litter X mentions and message boards with calls to make a change immediately.
The Magic's front office is not going to panic or make a change for the sake of making a change. They are going to let this group figure things out and improve throughout the season. There is still a lot of time to right the ship.
And Mosley's teams have always improved as the season progress. Orlando will bank on that history -- and a little bit better injury luck -- to propel them through the rest of the season.
All of the Magic's goals are still achievable. They are not about to throw the baby out with the bath water and overreact to a rough month of play.
There is plenty of reason to believe and stick with this group.
Not where they thought
To say the least, nobody had the Orlando Magic sitting at 19-16, a half-game below the red line in seventh in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic are not in danger of missing the postseason barring a complete collapse -- they have a two-game lead on the ninth-place Chicago Bulls and a three-game lead on the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks, not to mention a four-game lead on the 11th-place Milwaukee Bucks.
Orlando has mostly treaded water since breaking through to the NBA Cup semifinals.
But this was not meant to be a season of treading water. This was meant to be a season where the Magic pushed their way to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Reaching the NBA Cup semifinals and going to Las Vegas was supposed to be a confirmation of this. Instead, the team has slowly drifted through December.
Orlando has made some gains on offense, ranking 18th in offensive rating at 114.5 points per 100 possessions. But the team has made some major regressions on defense, ranking 11th at 113.3 points per 100 possessions.
Things have been even worse since Franz Wagner's injury in early December. Orlando is 5-6 in the 11 games since then and have a 111.9 offensive rating and 116.8 defensive rating.
That is far from the standard the team has set for itself.
Nothing feels like it is the Magic that established itself as an up-and-coming team around the league. And getting back that identity and that spirit is the first step to fixing anything.
But just because the team is not where it hoped it would be does not mean it still cannot get there.
Opportunity ahead
There is a clear opportunity ahead for Orlando to get back on track. The Magic are not so far down that they need to change too much. They just need to get themselves right.
Just like the early-season panic was a bit overblown — but worth noting — and the team needed some time to get itself going, the Magic right now need to use January to get itself on track.
The Orlando Magic play a relatively easy January with eight of 13 games against teams with losing records (including Friday's loss to the Chicago Bulls). They have only one back-to-back -- coming Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn -- and have ample rest period with the trip to Europe coming in a few weeks.
Orlando is not even too far behind the pace the team has set in its previous playoff trips.
The Magic through 35 games last year and in 2024 were 20-15, just one game better than their current record.
The Eastern Conference has not run away from them either. The Orlando Magic are only 1.5 games behind the fourth-place Toronto Raptors and 3.5 games behind the third-place Boston Celtics.
And that does not even mention that the Magic are waiting for the return of Franz and Moe Wagner, which may be happening very soon.
To this point, the Magic have played the third-hardest schedule in the league so far, too. They have weathered many injuries to stay in the race.
There are plenty of opportunities to improve. And that includes the team's history.
Mosley's teams have always played their best later in the season. So the hope is that the team is still improving and preparing to make a push later in the season, peaking right before the Playoffs.
The Magic went through a similar rough stretch last December, too -- going 6-7 last year as injuries overtook the roster. They went 6-8 in December in the 2024 season.
The Magic have always made their move in January and, especially after the All-Star Break. Everyone should hold off sounding the alarms so loudly.
They still have plenty of time to prove themselves and right the ship. All of their goals are still squarely in front of them and very achievable.
This stretch has been rough. Every season is filled with some adversity. But Orlando is not going to overreact to it. The team needs to improve, but is still capable at this point.