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The NBA All-Star Break comes at an interesting time for the Orlando Magic: even after Wednesday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, which defeat came down to the final minute, the team is only four wins shy of matching its 2012/13 total, and had emerged from each of its five previous home games victorious. How the team responds after the Break will answer some questions--and perhaps raise others--regarding its future. That six of Orlando's first seven games after the Break come on the road, where it owns the league's worst record, only adds to the intrigue.
How will the Magic spend their time off? By not taking much time off, as it turns out. Here's how they responded to questions about their plans for the Break.
Coach Jacque Vaughn said intends to "review" his team and take stock of where it stands.
"I'd like to take a little snapshot of where we are as a team and dig through my notes a little bit [and] see anything that I want to kind of go over," Vaughn said. "So it'll be a little bit of review time for me, anything I wanna challenge our guys with after the break or anything we wanna change."
True to his competitive nature, Arron Afflalo wants to use his downtime to study his game and find ways to improve.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's just really [to] assess my game within my situation here the first half of the season, month by month, and then see what I need to do to get to a higher level for the second half," said Afflalo, the Magic's leading scorer.
He has other commitments during the Break, as it turns out: the seventh-year player will compete in the Three-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday Night.
Tobias Harris offered the most succinct response to the question of his plans by saying, "Go home. Work out. Get ready." In this instance, the word "home" refers to Long Island, New York, Harris' hometown.
Victor Oladipo, as one might expect, won't have any free time during the Break: he's set to take part in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday as well as the Skills Challenge on Saturday. His schedule is booked solid, he said before Wednesday's game.
Nik Vučević plans to have a low-key All-Star Break: he said Wednesday that he'll stay in Orlando and spend time with his parents.
Orlando Pinstriped Post readers, how will you spend the All-Star Break? Further, to which stories and trends will you devote your attention in the unofficial second half of the Magic's schedule?
