Analysis: Spurs and Magic dealt with adversity. Other teams are looking for answers

Adversity befalls every team in the NBA at some point. We guarantee that someone will get injured or sick. How you handle these episodes can make or break your season.

Orlando and San Antonio are now looking for a way.

New Orleans and Philadelphia are among the teams that don’t do this.

The Magic were 9-1 in their last 10 games, all without the injured Paolo Banchero — the team’s best player and All-Star last season. They are behind only Cleveland and Boston, another pair of teams that haven’t let injuries get in the way of their stellar starts in the Eastern Conference. The Spurs are 7-5 since Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke that forced assistant coach Mitch Johnson to take over as coach without warning.

These two teams might be the best starting examples of how to not let adversity get in the way of winning.

“Mitch is a really smart, great teammate in the coaching room,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr, a close friend of Popovich and someone who spent time with Johnson during USA Basketball games in recent years, including at Las Vegas camps before the World Cup in 2023 and this year’s Olympic Games in Paris “He was an important part of all our conversations before and after training. He’s a really good coach, a good man. I know Pop loves him and feels very strongly what a good coach he is.

It shows. The last time Spurs – who have also been without striker Jeremy Sochan in recent weeks and played several games without star center Victor Wembanyama – had a better record was in 17 games in the 2017-18 season.

Johnson did an impressive job of keeping everything together during a difficult period.

“You look across the league, there’s a lot of people injured and guys not playing, so you’re trying to get everyone ready and figure out the next guy,” Johnson said. “But it’s nice to see everyone embrace it, not just for themselves but for their teammates as well.”

As expected, the Magic team went through a struggling phase after Banchero’s injury: without him, they started 0-4, losing those games by an average of 14.3 points. And then Franz Wagner, who should have gone to San Francisco for the All-Star Game, took a huge step forward, averaging 27.6 points over the last 11 games.

“I think he’s gained a different level of confidence and we need it,” Magic forward Jonathan Isaac said. “You know, obviously after Paolo fell, he got back up and realizes what this team needs. We need him to be aggressive and just shoot the basketball. I think he’s just stepped into the role, he’s dominant, he’s confident and he’s doing his thing.

Magic made playing without a star look easy. This is not. Take the Phoenix Suns for example – they are 8-1 with Kevin Durant and 1-6 without him. Durant will likely return from a calf strain on Tuesday night when the Suns host the Los Angeles Lakers.

Memphis is an example of how to weather a storm: The Grizzlies won 5-3 in Ja Morant’s eight-game absence, which ended on Monday night.

The Pelicans are only missing one big name. They have been decimated by injuries: Dejounte Murray missed his 17th game on Monday night with a broken left hand, and three other Pelicans – Zion Williamson, C.J. McCollum and Herb Jones – have missed at least 12 games with injuries. That’s why New Orleans is 4-14 and one of the worst starts in the league.

“We’re going to figure it out, fight and claw it like we always do,” Pelicans forward Trey Murphy said.

The 76ers say they will do the same, but they are missing many of their top players – with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kyle Lowry among them, missing time due to injuries.

The result is a 3-13 start, the second-worst record in the NBA. Philadelphia’s only consolation right now is that it’s in the East, where only four teams currently boast winning records.

“We have 16 matches left. It’s a long season,” Maxey said. “Either we lay down and let teams come in here and play against us on the field, or we go out there and play with a little bit of pride and go out there and win some games.

“We understand that,” he added. “I got injured. ​​Jo got injured. ​​Kyle got injured. ​​P was injured. Guys come in and out of the lineup. Yes, we understand that. This isn’t perfect. But we can all do one thing every night, from 1 to 1 15, go out there, learn the game plan and play extremely hard every night.

That’s part of adversity. Spurs and Magic seem to have already achieved this. The Pelicans and 76ers are among those still searching for answers.