The Orlando Magic fared well relative to expectations on their most recent west coast road trip that saw a net negative result of 2-3, while also harnessing promise in the form of double digits advantages over the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.

While true, the Blazers have lost five of their previous six contests, and the Warriors too, five of their past eight, the Magic faced a difficult stretch between Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State, Portland and Phoenix, and nearly emerged an eye-popping 4-1. Aaron Gordon effectively limited Kevin Durant to 11 points in the first half before exiting due to back soreness, and the floodgates opened from there, as Durant’s 38 point second-half explosion overwhelmed the visitors.

The Magic also led the Blazers by 11 early in the third quarter before Damian Lillard went supernova, sealing the game with two free throws with 32.9 seconds to play.

But if you’re looking for moral victories, you’ve been missing the message head coach Steve Clifford has delivered all season long:

“So whatever, we played better, but that’s not what this league is about,” head coach Steve Clifford said after the Magic’s loss in Philadelphia on October 26th. “That’s a game right there that was there to be won. There were plays to be made and you’ve got to make them.”

“We’ve gotta stop with that shit,’ Clifford continued after GSW. ‘You know what you either win or you lose. We’re good enough to win. There’s none of this you know “we played hard”, we’re not doing that anymore.”

At 11-12, and current place card holders of the eighth position in the eastern conference standings, the Magic finish up their road trip against the 9-13, Miami Heat. After back-to-back losses to the Raptors and Hawks, the Heat have rebounded nicely against the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. The Magic managed the 104-101 home victory six weeks ago and will need to upend their southeast counterpart again to climb back to .500.

But things get no easier from there. First, the Magic host the number one seed in the West in the 16-7 Denver Nuggets, followed by the 13-10 Pacers, before heading back on the road to face the surprising 11-10 Mavericks who have won four of their past five behind Rookie of the Year shoo-in, Luka Doncic. Then, a slight reprieve against the Bulls before hosting the Jazz and the Spurs.

“There’s definitely a belief that we have a good enough team, a talented enough team to make the playoffs- and not just make the playoffs, but win in the playoffs.” – DJ Augustin

“We’re a different team than last year. I trust this team. We’ve had a tough schedule. I’m pretty confident to be honest.” – Evan Fournier

”I want us as a team to grow to the place where we expect to beat the best teams in this league. Because we will be one of the best teams in this league when we put it together.“ – Jonathan Isaac

The Magic emerged 9-7 in November, the first month the Magic had won since October of 2017.  The Magic have also gotten a break from NBA schedule makers, facing only the 19th most difficult schedule thus far in the 2018-19 season. According to Tankathon, the Magic’s remaining schedule is the third-easiest in the NBA. With 16 games remaining against the Phoenix Suns, the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Magic will have every opportunity to create distance in the eastern conference, but those 16 ‘gimmes’ are not enough.

We’ve seen the Magic’s resilience in the 16-point fourth quarter come behind victory against Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid and the 76ers. We’ve seen them close out both the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs.

We’ve also seen the Magic squander distinct advantages against the Pistons, Warriors and Blazers.

If the Magic are to take the next step and separate themselves from the bottom dwellers in the eastern conference, the time is now for the Magic to surge ahead of the Hornets and the Heat. To do that, they will need to build on their promise, and learn to close games against not only the nominal opponents, but the notable ones as well.