Weekly Magic Power Rankings

Losers of five straight games, and 16 of their last 19, the shorthanded Magic continue to inch closer towards the bottom of the league in NBA power rankings. Click on each publication for the full rankings.

ESPN - Magic fall from 21 to 22

In October, the Magic declined the fourth-year option of Mario Hezonja, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft. On Sunday, he had the best game of his career: a career-high 28 points with 8 3-pointers, the most by a Magic player since Arron Afflalo in 2013. What's the bigger surprise of the season so far for the Magic? This type of performance from Hezonja or the fact that the Magic were actually on top of the Eastern Conference standings near Halloween? -- Vincent Johnson

CBS Sports - Magic fall from 23 to 27

Orlando has been battling through a lot of injuries. At one point they were missing five rotation players. Aaron Gordon came back from a concussion only to immediately go out again with a calf injury. On the plus side, Jonathan Isaac is back again and has been a phenomenal defender for a rookie. -- Chris Barnewall

USA Today - Magic remain at 24

Jonathon Simmons, an undrafted swingman who showed flashes of brilliance during his two seasons in San Antonio, has taken a massive step forward during his first season in Orlando. He's averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists this month — one of just 12 players with such numbers. -- AJ Neuharth-Keusch

Bleacher Report - Magic fall from 23 to 26

Is it just me, or does it always seem that whenever a bad team starts talking about its energy levels, it means the season's basically over? A contender can coast and lament its lack of urgency (the Warriors and Cavaliers are pros at this), and it isn't necessarily cause for concern. But when a floundering squad leans on lack of juice as an explanation for losses, it's always ominous. For the Orlando Magic, the real problems are poor luck on the health front, a lack of top-end talent and shaky offensive execution. Yet, after falling to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in a game Aaron Gordon, Arron Afflalo, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac missed due to injury, the refrain was about effort. "We need to play with more energy," Nikola Vucevic told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. "Especially when you have guys ... are out, we need to have a lot of energy to make up for those losses." There's room for understanding here. A bad team can't just come out and say, "We're bad because we don't have enough good (or healthy) players." The Magic are competitive professionals, so they might not even accept that as the truth in the first place. But the energy thing just reeks of a team on a three-game losing streak without answers. Which is what the Magic are. — Grant Hughes

NBA.com - Magic fall from 25 to 28

With Aaron Gordon suffering a calf strain in his first game back from a concussion, and with Marreese Speights shooting a league-worst 4-for-33 in December, Magic coach Frank Vogel has had little choice but to go with Mario Hezonja at the four last week. As a starter over the last four games, Hezonja has been positively Jeff-Green-like in his consistent inconsistency, but scored a career-high 28 points, shooting 8-for-12 from 3-point range (including a meaningless runner at the final buzzer), in Detroit on Sunday. The Magic have still lost five straight and are still 3-16 since Nov. 11, because when their offense has had the occasional breakout, their defense hasn't been able to get stops. -- John Schuhmann

SI.com - Magic fall from 23 to 25

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for this (video below) for SO LONG. It was everything I imagined it would be. -- Kenny Ducey