Orlando Magic coaches and front-office officials have tried to maintain a delicate balance this season. They want to win games now. But, at the same time, they're trying also to develop three second-year players and four rookies into bona fide NBA assets. The Magic fell excruciatingly short of beating the Miami Heat on Monday, falling to the defending champs 112-110 in overtime. But even the veteran players think some good can come from the defeat if, and only if, it accelerates the youngsters' growth.
Nik Vucevic scored a career-high 20 points and collected a franchise-record 29 rebounds. Andrew Nicholson delivered a hard foul on perennial All-Star Dwyane Wade, leaving Wade with a bloody nose. And DeQuan Jones defended energetically against the world's best player, LeBron James.
"I think the thing we can control, and continue to control, is how hard we play," veteran Magic guard J.J. Redick said.
"Specifically [for] younger guys that's a hard thing to do: figuring that out that you have to play with the same level of intensity every night in this league. There's no nights off in this league. So we need the same effort out of Nik and D.J. next game."
That next test will come Wednesday night, when the Magic (12-19) host the Chicago Bulls (16-13) at Amway Center. Orlando will try to avoid its first seven-game losing streak since it lost eight consecutive games Feb. 6-22, 2006.
The 2005-06 Magic roster included one second-year player who developed into a superstar, Dwight Howard, and two other second-year players, Jameer Nelson and Trevor Ariza, who became solid pros.
It also included two third-year pros, Darko Milicic and Terence Morris, who never amounted to much in the NBA.
