The Orlando Magic are stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

On one hand, they continue to be marred by injuries that have led to an incredibly limited sample size of what the core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane can be. According to the team’s director of digital news, Dan Savage, the trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs have only played in 17 of Orlando’s 126 regular season games together since the beginning of last season. 

That number equates to just 13.5 percent of the time. By extension, it has kept Bane — the Magic’s big offseason acquisition — from building continuous chemistry with his teammates during his first year in Orlando. When Banchero, Wagner and Suggs play together, they make the Magic a force to be reckoned with.

On the other hand, there seems to be another element: Growing frustration. 

Monday night’s 114-98 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers marked the fourth consecutive defeat for Orlando, and each loss has come by double digits. After the game, Banchero appeared to be visibly frustrated after a season-high 37-point effort was not enough to end his team’s losing streak. 

There is also a growing animosity within the fanbase toward coach Jamahl Mosley. A quick trip to the social media platform, X, will provide countless results of disgruntled fans calling for Mosley’s job as the Magic sit just one game above .500. 

Before falling to the Cavs in Cleveland on Monday, the Magic dropped the first meeting between the two teams at home on Saturday. After the loss, a video surfaced of the Magic in a huddle at the end of a timeout. The footage presented Mosley placing his fist in the middle of the circle to galvanize the team; a gesture that Banchero and Bane did not partake in. 

It is unclear if Banchero and Bane simply did not notice their coach, but the clip gave rise to fan claims that the team has given up on Mosley.  

The last two games were largely lost due to poor perimeter shooting, and Mosley has continued to preach about following the team’s process. 

“Just continue to stick with what we've been doing, the process as is, because we're getting open looks,” Mosley said after Monday’s loss. “And I think that's what we have to know if we weren't getting the looks that we needed, then there's something else that we can look at.  

But we've got to continue to stay with what we've been doing, generating those great looks for our guys, and just continue to step in with that level of confidence.” 

However, shooting seems like it may be a microcosm of a larger issue. 

“I think we just need to play better,” Banchero said. “Shots may or may not fall, but we got to win. So, anything we got to do to win the game.” 

After acquiring Bane, the expectations for this Magic team were grand, especially considering the state of the Eastern Conference. However, lack of availability from the team’s top players has led to faltering continuity, as a trend continues in which one key member of the rotation returns just for another to get hurt. 

But, below the service, there might be more fractures regarding Mosley’s leadership. If Orlando’s struggles continue, there is a real chance that the complaints of fans will be spoken into existence. 

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