There are times when you have to wonder whether all this would be happening, if Courtney Lee's shot had just gone in.
The reshuffling of the lineup, the re-examination of the plan, the reaction to every stumble by the Orlando Magic as if they were careening over the edge of a cliff.
It was the final seconds of Game 2 of the NBA Finals on June 7, with the score tied, and just enough time for the lob pass to sail over Kobe Bryant's head. The ball settled into Lee's hands, he ducked under Pau Gasol's arm ... and he missed the layup.
If Lee makes the shot and the Magic go home to Orlando with the series tied 1-1 instead of down 0-2, is their confidence buoyed and their play inspired?
If Lee makes the shot and a routine 4-1 Lakers coronation turns into an honest-to-goodness best-of-seven battle for the title, are the Magic just a little more reluctant to turn the page?
If Lee makes the shot and the Magic feel they have a fighting chance, do they still balk at the $10 million asking price of free agent Hedo Turkoglu, who made all of those big plays in the playoff run, and replace him with the $16 million contract of Vince Carter?
If Lee makes the shot, is he still shipped out to New Jersey as part of the deal for Carter, who has struggled mightily all season to make a few shots of his own?
Nobody did much looking over their shoulders when the Magic began the season 17-4, picking up right where they left off from last year's upstart campaign that finished with an unappreciated 59 wins and the unexpected berth in the Finals.
But then a Christmas Day loss at home to the Boston Celtics led to a stretch of eight losses in 11 games and brought on more to worry about than merely coach Stan Van Gundy's often loud and gruff sideline demeanor.
Now, even though Orlando has won four in a row heading into Friday night's game against the Washington Wizards, there are questions about the Magic and who they are.
The questions in January where mostly about Carter, who averaged just 8.7 points a game and shot 28.4 percent from the field for the month. Things were so bad that during one three-game stretch, he played a total of just 85 seconds in the fourth quarter.
"I don't think that I've necessarily figured it all out, that's for sure," Van Gundy said. "I don't feel like I've really got it all together in terms of playing the best rotations, the best people at the right times or that we're necessarily taking the right offensive approach. I still think there are some things I've got to get solved.
"I'm comfortable with our defensive approach. Our defense isn't always what I want, but I'm comfortable with our approach and the way we do it. We've pretty well proven we can play good defense. In terms of lineups and substitutions, offense, I've still got to get better in that regard."
Last season's devastating inside-outside game has become more hit-and-miss as center Dwight Howard's shots-per-game average has dropped from 12 to 9.6 and his scoring average from 20.6 to 17.8 and wingman Rashard Lewis from 17.7 to 15.
While the Magic are still taking and making roughly the same number of 3-point attempts -- 10 of 28 this season, compared to 10 of 26 last season -- there have been more feast-and-famine swings. At times the defending Eastern Conference champions have appeared less-than-interested in the battles.
Following a dismal loss in Portland, newcomer Matt Barnes erupted. "Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can't go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down," he said. "We got no heart ... Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."
Yet how bad can things truly be when the Magic are heading toward the All-Star break with a 33-16 record that is second-best in the East and third-best overall in the NBA? In play among the fearsome foursome of the East, the Magic are a combined 5-2 against Atlanta (3-0), Boston (2-1) and Cleveland (0-1).
Orlando opened the season trying to incorporate the newcomers Carter, Barnes, Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass onto the roster while Lewis missed the first 10 games serving a suspension for having tested positive for a banned substance.
"You can underestimate what it's like to have all of the new faces, the new parts on the team," said Lewis. "This is just a process that takes time."
With the re-making of the roster, all of the adjustments to the offensive system, it's enough to make you wonder.
What if Courtney Lee's shot had gone in?
"There are always going to be changes to every season," Howard said. "We're just working things out ..."
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