There shouldn’t be too much shame in losing to the Utah Jazz in Utah. The Jazz are among the NBA’s best home teams, and the atmosphere in Utah is among the most electric in the NBA.
Third Quarter Collapse: “Disconcerting” Loss For The Magic
But when you’re among the very few true contenders for the NBA championships, these excuses don’t really fly. Third Quarter Collapse, SB Nation’s Orlando Magic blog, writes that the Magic should be very upset about their performance.
Now, this is not the sort of game where the Magic can say, “hey, we played well, they played better.” That’s simply not the case. The game wasn’t as close as the final margin might indicate, as the Jazz surrendered layup after layup in the waning minutes in order to keep Orlando from bombing its way back into the game with three-pointers. 8 points in the final minute for the Magic, and they were all academic.
Utah just utterly outclassed the Magic tonight. They worked harder, from tip to horn, than Orlando did. Their effort paid off when they locked down on defense, while their offense sustained. For example: Orlando is among the league’s worst offensive reobunding teams, and by choice; coach Stan Van Gundy likes to send four men back after the shot’s release in order to cut down on the opponent’s transition game. But they’re much better on the glass than the Jazz made ’em look tonight. In the second half, in which Utah outscored Orlando, 68-51, the Magic grabbed 1 offensive rebound in 21 opportunities. One-and-done for them on offense.
The Magic never really strung together any meaningful stops, and looked overmatched defensively the entire night. This is, in brief, a disconcerting loss.
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