One of the lessons Jacque Vaughn learned during his NBA playing career is serving him well now that the team he’s coaching has lost 11 of its last 14 games, igniting calls from some Orlando Magic fans for the organization to fire him as the team’s head coach.
Vaughn said he’s not worried about his job security, and it helps him that he learned as a player to avoid social-media chatter and unsubstantiated speculation about potential moves.
“I really don’t read it,” Vaughn said after the Magic lost their sixth consecutive game Saturday night, extending its longest losing streak of the season.
“I’m not on social media. And the great thing is I do my job as hard as I can every single day, and I’ll always keep it that way. I keep it that simple. I don’t complicate it. What I do know is, since Day One, since I accepted this job, everything I’ve done has been for this organization and it’ll continue to be that way.”
In his first two seasons as the Magic’s head coach, Vaughn compiled a 43-121 record. But an asterisk of sorts always accompanied those struggles. Everyone within the organization knew the franchise was in the early stages of a potentially lengthy rebuilding project; for the first two seasons, the Magic focused primarily on improving players’ individual skills and hoped to maximize their odds for the NBA Draft Lottery.
This season, however, brought a different emphasis. Now with improved but inexperienced talent, this is supposed to be a season in which the team — not just the individual players on it — made improvements.
The Magic will reach the midway point of their season after Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, and so far, the team holds a 13-27 record.
Although Vaughn’s team played hard in its recent losses to the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers and may be able to build on those efforts, it’s clear within the organization the team has lost its way in recent weeks. Since mid-December, the Magic have endured head-scratching losses to teams with comparable talent or less talent: losses to the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
The consensus within the organization has been that the team’s inexperience has been the primary reason for the losses. But the intensified recent struggles have prompted team officials to search for the root causes of the problems.
In recent interviews, Magic players placed the responsibility on themselves.
“I think for us as a team we need to turn it around, not just for Coach but for ourselves,” forward Tobias Harris said. “At the end of the day, Coach can’t come on the floor. He can’t box out for you. He can’t dive on the floor for you. Nobody on the staff can get on the floor and go out there and outhustle somebody and play with a passion and a heart for you as a player.
“Fans, they love to point the finger,” Harris added. “That’s any team and any organization you play for. Fans are passionate about what they do. But for us as a team, it’s going to come down to us really buying in and focusing on how to get better. I think a lot of the reason we’re losing is because teams are outhustling us and teams are outplaying us. And for a young team and a lot of energy guys, that shouldn’t be the problem.”
Harris noted that Vaughn is much more passionate behind the scenes than Vaughn’s typically placid sideline demeanor indicates. When Harris returns to the Magic’s practice facility at 1 a.m. to take shots, Harris often sees Vaughn in his office studying film.
“It goes to show how much he really wants us to be a good team,” Harris said. “I think we need to have that same focus and same energy.”
Center Nikola Vucevic and other players echoed Harris’ comments.
“You can’t blame it on Jacque,” Vucevic said. “We’re the guys out there playing. You can’t say that it’s Jacque’s fault. The effort has to come from us. He can’t control that. He can give us plays and X’s-and-O’s and all that, but if we don’t come out with any effort … it’s not going to do anything.
“We obviously want this thing to turn around, not only for him but all of us. Nobody in this locker room enjoys losing. It’s no fun. Everything’s so much better when you win.”
jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
