Pistons, Magic down on their luck but play on
The Detroit Pistons started the season with great expectations.
But the season has not turned as expected for the Pistons and the Orlando Magic, Detroit's opponent on Friday night at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
The Pistons, featuring budding all-star Andre Drummond and promising young players Reggie Jackson, Tobias Harris and Markieff Morris, seemed set to take the next step.
The eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Pistons in the first round last year, but each game was close. It provided optimism that the Pistons would be an up-and-coming challenger in the Eastern Conference.
Much of the credit went to Stan Van Gundy, the team's coach and president of basketball operations. He gets the most of his players and always finds himself in the playoff mix with his demand for perfection.
There was little reason to believe in October the Pistons would struggle.
An early season injury to Reggie Jackson slowed the team down. But the Pistons seem to have other problems.
Detroit has stumbled to a 34-38 record, ninth in the Eastern Conference but 1.5 games out of the playoff picture with 10 games to play.
It is not an impossible margin to erase, but things are looking bleal. The team has lost five of its past six games, falling out of playoff pole position and into a precarious situation.
It is looking even bleaker after the Pistons' 117-95 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Not even the always honest Van Gundy could spare himself from criticism.
"I'm not separated from this, obviously," Van Gundy told the Detroit Free Press after the loss. "I think it's pretty clear from these six games I'm not finding the answers and not doing a very good job. It starts with me. I'm the person in charge. I selected everybody in that locker room. I'm the one that wanted them in there."
Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel does not have as much power to pick his players as Van Gundy. But he too is feeling the responsibility and weight of a disappointing season as he tries to guide his team forward.
The Magic (26-46) are not in the thick of the playoff hunt. They faded long ago. The team is far out of the playoff race and closer to the top of the draft lottery. But the Magic continue to push and build for 2018.
"Every day is a chance to improve," Vogel said after practice Thursday. "We still have a lot of young guys. Our system is in year one. Us being together as a group is in year one in terms of our style of play offensively, our offensive system, our defensive schemes. All that stuff takes time to develop.
"We didn't put it together enough this year to make a playoff run. But we're going to be together and we're going to be moving forward. All these practice days and games are opportunities to improve and opportunities to build winning habits. We have to practice every practice like it's our last and every game like it's our last."
Vogel said the team was hurting after its 109-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. The Magic did not make the plays it needed to make down the stretch to hold onto the lead.