The Orlando Magic have already shown they can hang with the top of the Eastern Conference. The next step is turning that into something that lasts.
That’s the challenge hanging over a team that built a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons last postseason, then watched it slip away after Franz Wagner got hurt and the Magic dropped their third straight first-round series. For a club that came one win from the second round, the memory of that Game 6 collapse is the kind of thing that can stick in the locker room all summer.
Don Strouble of Full Court Magic, speaking recently with RJ Saunders of 1010XL Magic, said that loss has to be used as fuel.
“In concrete terms, that's all it can be: a source of motivation. We're talking about one of the great collapses in NBA history.
It was absolutely egregious what that second half of Game 6 turned into-I believe they only scored 17 points, missed 23 or 24 shots in a row, and went 45 minutes of real time without hitting a shot. It was just an absolute epic collapse, and at the end of that series, we saw great games from Paolo Banchero in Games 5 and 7-that was the type of superstar he could be-but it wasn't enough.
He was very candid in that Game 7 postgame session after they were eliminated, basically talking about how 'we're not good enough right now.' In his offseason media appearances, like with Stephen A.
Smith a couple months ago, he talked about the work he's putting into his body, trying to become more durable so he can be there for his team. But he also talked about not getting complacent, and how when he first made the playoffs as a young player, he was just thankful to be there.
This team has passed that point. Three years in a row, they have shown that they can be a postseason participant, but that is all they have been-they have been knocked out all three times in the first round.
This is a franchise that has not won a playoff series since 2010. So this fan base is hungry, and this team is hungry because they do have the pieces, and Paolo can be the guy.
This team together, when it's at its best, we saw what it can do: it can push around the number one seed in the East. Things are going to have to play in their favor, health first and foremost.
But more than that, I hope that Game 6 has fueled all of these guys to push it a little harder in workouts, do the things that maybe they don't want to do, and cut that vacation short-whatever it has to be to make sure that they can reach the heights that they want to. I hope that the sting and the pain from that game served as motivation to be as committed as possible.”
The message is clear: Orlando has the talent, and Paolo Banchero has already flashed the kind of star power that can carry a team deeper in the postseason. But after three straight first-round exits, the Magic need more than promise. They need the kind of edge that turns a painful collapse into a breakthrough.
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