Following a week-long trip to Europe that included splitting a pair of games in Berlin and London against the Grizzlies, the Magic returned to the practice courts inside the AdventHealth Training Center on Wednesday.
Regrouping after a long trek back Monday and an off-day Tuesday, Orlando focused on the fundamentals of the game on both ends of the court while reflecting on the time spent overseas and looking ahead to the second half of the regular season.
“A really, really cool experience, something that me, Moe [Wagner] and Tristan [da Silva] will definitely never forget,” German forward Franz Wagner said about the trip. “Hopefully the other guys had a lot of fun out there too.
“It was a long week though, so we’re definitely happy to be back here,” he added.
Back home, the team went through a “spirited and physical” practice Wednesday, according to coach Jamahl Mosley. Orlando hosts the Hornets (16-27) at Kia Center on Thursday and Cleveland on Saturday.
“No, we had a great practice,” Mosley said when asked if he saw any lingering fatigue from the trip. “I thought it was a great practice for our guys, for getting their bodies moving.”
Entering Wednesday’s slate of games, the Magic (23-19) were sixth in the Eastern Conference but just 1.5 games back of No. 3 New York (25-18) and three behind No. 2 Boston (26-16).
Orlando isn’t pleased with how the first 42 games of the season went but it knows a lot can still be accomplished in the second half of the year.
“It’s fair to say we’re not where we want to be as a team in terms of the standings,” Wagner said. “That was a big part of today, just realizing that we do have half the season left, kind of in our control. [We] haven’t played our best basketball and have a lot of basketball left to prove what kind of team we are.”
Although Wagner made his return to the court in Berlin following a 16-game absence due to a left high ankle sprain, the team has still been without Jalen Suggs for 14 of the last 16 contests, including the last seven because of a right knee MCL bruise.
Orlando upgraded Suggs to questionable on the team’s initial injury report for Thursday’s game, indicating his return is possible against the Hornets.
“Jalen is getting better,” Mosley said about Suggs after Wednesday’s practice. “He was doing a little bit of light contact and, as you know, we just always go off of how he’ll respond to what happened today, looking at him [Thursday].”
Moe Wagner, who was a late scratch in London due to left knee injury management after he played two games following a year-plus recovery for a torn left ACL, is also “doing better now,” Mosley said.
While injuries have contributed to Orlando’s recent struggles — the team is 5-5 in its last 10 games — how it has started games has been a factor, too.
The Magic gave up 39 points in the first quarter to Memphis in Berlin and 40 points in the opening frame three days later in London. The Hornets scored 38 in the first quarter when they left Kia Center with a 15-point win over Orlando the day after Christmas.
The players are aware it’s up to them to figure out how to start games stronger in order to play more consistently with just 11 games left ahead of the NBA All-Star break in mid-February.
“It’s on everybody in the building to make sure that we finish out the season the right way and hopefully the result of that is stringing some wins together in a row and finding a rhythm as a team,” Franz Wagner said. “That happens when you focus on each day at a time [and] get better as a a team on both sides of the ball.”
That process starts when the Hornets come to town Thursday.
“Our fans are the best, so that energy that happens in Kia Center, that’s going to be so big for us,” Mosley said. “That can help out coming home from a eight-day trip overseas and the travel.
“But that’s not going to be an excuse,” he added about the trip back. “I think our guys are ready to go for tomorrow.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Hornets
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida