{"id":556092,"date":"2026-01-23T19:23:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/556092\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:23:17","slug":"why-orlando-needs-a-little-hocus-pocus-to-banish-old-habits-keeping-them-deep-in-the-mud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/556092\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Orlando needs a little hocus pocus to banish old habits keeping them ‘deep in the mud’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orlando Magic<\/a>\u2019s uneven 2025\u201326 season took another step backward Thursday night with a lopsided 124-97 loss at home to the Charlotte Hornets<\/a>, prompting star forward Paolo Banchero<\/a> to issue a pointed message about familiar problems resurfacing<\/a> \u2014 and a defensive identity beginning to erode.<\/p>\n

Banchero finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal while shooting 6-for-12 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range and 9-for-12 from the free throw line in 30 minutes. The performance did little to change the outcome, as Orlando fell behind early and never recovered.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the game, Banchero emphasized that the team\u2019s struggles feel less like a temporary slump and more like a recurring pattern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really similar to the past couple of seasons if you really look at it and you know, last year wasn\u2019t a great season. We had tough times, a lot of bad losses last year. The year before when we won 47 games, probably our best year, but I think it\u2019s something that has occurred over and over again the last few seasons so I just think we gotta figure a way to put an end to it. If we want to be a contender or a team that\u2019s going to play deep into the playoffs, we gotta go out there and be different. We can\u2019t just stay the same and right now feels like we have the same issues as the past and now our defense is slipping which makes it look worse. Like you said, our defense covered a lot of that in the past and now that\u2019s slipping. Those problems start to be magnified when you can\u2019t win on your defense and I think that\u2019s something we gotta figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to Paolo Banchero after tonight’s blowout loss.<\/p>\n

Pretty damning stuff. pic.twitter.com\/n9dShnT37h<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Alex Walker (@AlexWalkerTV) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Paolo Banchero cites lack of alignment amid Magic inconsistencies\"Orlando@ Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Offensively, Orlando has shown incremental improvement compared to recent seasons, but the production remains below league average. The Magic rank 19th in scoring at 115.7 points per game after finishing 24th in 2023\u201324 and 28th the year prior. Perimeter shooting continues to be a lingering issue, with Orlando ranking 28th in three-point percentage at 34 percent \u2014 a problem that has persisted near the bottom of the league for three consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

Defense, however, has long been Orlando\u2019s stabilizing force. That reliability has begun to fade. The Magic rank 13th this season, allowing 115.4 points per game. Two years ago, during a 47-win campaign, they finished fourth defensively by holding opponents to 108.4 points per contest. Last season, despite a 41-41 record, Orlando posted the NBA\u2019s top defensive rating<\/a> at 105.5 points allowed per game \u2014 edging even the Oklahoma City Thunder, who went on to win the championship.<\/p>\n

Banchero said alignment across the organization has not been consistent enough to prevent those slippages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s on everybody. It\u2019s on me.\u201d Banchero said.\u201d It\u2019s on everyone on the team. Coaches. We\u2019ve got to be on the same page. It sucks that I’m saying that in January but that\u2019s the reality. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve been on the same page much this year. I just think it\u2019s showing up with the way we\u2019ve played, showing up with the inconsistencies throughout the season, and it\u2019s frustrating. Guys in the locker room, we want to win. But [as] I said, you can\u2019t just say you want to win without doing anything to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hornets\u2019 opening-quarter burst exposes Magic\u2019s defensive focus<\/p>\n

Head coach Jamahl Mosley<\/a> pointed to a lack of defensive urgency early as a defining factor in the loss. Charlotte scored 35 points in the opening quarter after playing the night before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a little shocking. You\u2019ve got to give the Hornets a ton of credit the way they came out and played. They played last night. They got beat.\u201d Mosley said. \u201cThey responded with a sense of urgency the way they came out [scoring] 35 in that first quarter. Shots didn\u2019t fall and we let it impact our defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosley was direct when asked how the Magic can regain their defensive edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sit down and guard. You sit down and guard the damn basketball. That\u2019s what you do. You take it personally when guys blow by you. You take it personally when your teammates get scored on, when you get scored on and guys are getting easy baskets. And they hit some tough ones early that are a little deflating, but then when you do miss, you go box out, hit somebody and get a damn rebound. That\u2019s what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked #Magic<\/a> coach Jamahl Mosley if it\u2019s surprising to him that Orlando\u2019s defense still continues to struggle and how it recaptures that:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a little shocking,\u201d Mosley said.<\/p>\n

He later added: \u201cYou sit down and guard the damn basketball. That\u2019s what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full remarks: pic.twitter.com\/1sbH95M57h<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Beede (@therealBeede) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Veteran big man Moritz Wagner echoed the urgency after scoring 14 points off the bench in 15 minutes, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re deep in the mud. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve struggled this much in the time as much as we do right now in my stint here. And we\u2019re all looking for answers. But it\u2019s also part of the profession that it\u2019s not always going to go our way. And you\u2019ve kind of got to start looking left and right, and figure it out together. And we will start doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Orlando, the challenge now is preventing familiar issues from defining the season after falling to 23-20, with Saturday\u2019s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers (25-20) looming.<\/p>\n