ORLANDO, Fla. — What first seemed like a devastating blow to the Orlando Magic — up to six weeks without injured All-Star forward Paolo Banchero — might not turn out disastrous after all.
Not if Franz Wagner keeps playing like a potential All-Star.
Not if Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac continue to suffocate opposing offenses with their relentless defense.
Orlando has found new hope after a difficult start to life without Banchero. The Magic won their fourth straight game Wednesday night, stifling the Indiana Pacers 94-90 on the strength of one of their most dominant fourth-quarter defensive performances since Dwight Howard’s heyday.
“I almost can’t say enough about the resiliency, the energy, the mindset of these guys,” Isaac said. “With that, I feel that we can go as far as we want to.”
Just one week ago, it would have sounded ludicrous for Isaac or any of his teammates to express optimism about their immediate future. On Oct. 30, Banchero tore a right oblique muscle in a road game against the Chicago Bulls. The Magic lost that night and then, plagued by horrid 3-point shooting and perhaps shellshocked initially by Banchero’s absence, dropped each of their next four games, all on the road. Orlando had fallen to 3-6 and seemed on the verge of tumbling down the Eastern Conference standings.
Returning home to Kia Center for a five-game homestand rejuvenated the Magic. Friday, they overcame another characteristically rough 3-point shooting night to trounce the injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans. Victories followed against the rebuilding Washington Wizards and a Charlotte Hornets team playing without Miles Bridges and its top two centers.
Tuesday night, the second night of a back-to-back against the well-rested Pacers, figured to be a much tougher challenge, and it was. Once again, Orlando struggled from beyond the arc, sinking only nine of its 30 3-point attempts through the first three quarters. With All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and wing Bennedict Mathurin leading the way, the Pacers carried a 72-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
Then the game suddenly turned. On Indiana’s first 11 possessions of the fourth quarter, the quintet of Suggs, Black, Isaac, Jett Howard and Moe Wagner forced eight misses and generated three turnovers.
“The second unit came in and changed the game for us,” Franz Wagner said. “We went on a little run. Especially our guards, obviously, put a lot of pressure on the ballhandlers, and then once you get beat and you’ve got guys like J.I. behind you, we’ve just got the personnel, and we’ve got the right mindset on that side of the floor.”
Even when Banchero was healthy and provided a safety valve for the Magic’s unreliable half-court offense, the team’s path to success always revolved around its defense. With Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Orlando has one of the best starting defensive backcourts in the league, perhaps trailing only the Boston Celtics’ tandem of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Black, a 6-foot-7 baby-faced guard in his second season, has emerged as another defensive stopper.
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley has said that with Banchero out, his team needs to do an even better job of pushing the ball upcourt after opponents’ turnovers and misses. The faster the Magic’s pace, the more likely they are to generate easy shots.
In Wednesday’s fourth quarter, Mosley’s crew forced seven turnovers that led to 10 points.
“I’m so proud of them, so proud of this group,” Mosley said. “It wasn’t a pretty one, but it’s the way you have to try to get it done in this league, and these guys embraced it. (They) easily could’ve given in. But we talk about how much grit this team has, and you see how connected they are. They fought through the shooting lulls at times, the turnovers early, and they found a way.”
Orlando also is dealing with the absence of starting center Wendell Carter Jr., who missed his sixth consecutive game because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Goga Bitadze, who had been waived by the Pacers during the 2022-23 season and then was signed several days later by the Magic, has subbed for Carter in the lineup. Against his former team, Bitadze scored 12 points, corralled 12 rebounds, blocked two shots and played with a bit of a mean streak.
Franz Wagner has morphed into Orlando’s go-to guy and primary playmaker with Banchero out. It took Wagner a few games (and getting over a nasty non-COVID-19 stomach bug) to acclimate to the larger offensive role, but he has averaged 27.8 points and 6.0 assists per game over the last five games.
“I think it’s a little of a mentality shift for me as well,” Wagner said after Tuesday’s victory over Charlotte. “The way I grew up playing was a lot off the ball and just taking really good shots all the time. Sometimes it’s OK to take a midrange shot and stuff like that. So, that’s something that’s not ingrained necessarily, or wasn’t taught to me from a young age. So, it’s a good challenge for me.”
Instead of sinking like a stone, Wagner and his teammates now find themselves in third place in the East, at 7-6 overall.
But after relatively easy games against New Orleans, Washington and Charlotte, the matchup against Indiana signaled the start of a more difficult stretch. The Philadelphia 76ers will come to town for an NBA Cup game on Friday, and then the Magic travel to the West Coast for three games, facing the Phoenix Suns, LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns’ Kevin Durant is dealing with a calf strain, and the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played yet this season because of inflammation in his right knee.
The Magic posted an 18-23 road record last regular season, lost all four of their road playoff games in the spring and have opened this season 1-6 away from Orlando.
“It’s a long season, and there’s going to be ups and downs,” Wagner said. “The good teams find a way to get quickly out of those downs. I think in that regard we’ve made huge strides.”
One more month or so remains until Banchero is expected to return. That month will test just how impressive those strides have been.
(Top photo of Anthony Black and T.J. McConnell: Mike Watters / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
