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Josh Cohen

1. Paolo Banchero Has a Chance to Be One of the All-Time Greats

There are many reasons why this is. Most obvious, he’s doing things statistically only all-time greats do. For example, by averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 2023-24, he became just the fourth player 21 years old or younger to average 22-plus points, six-plus rebounds and five-plus assists with 40-plus games played. The others were Michael Jordan, LeBron James (twice) and Luka Doncic (twice).&nbsp;

Banchero also scored over 30 points three times in Orlando’s first-round playoff series against Cleveland. Only LeBron was younger when he accomplished that (did it five times in 2006 first-round series against Wizards and scored at least 30 three times in following series against Pistons). Banchero’s 38 points in Game 7 were the most ever by a player 21 or younger in a Game 7.&nbsp;

Other things going for him are his poise, maturity, work ethic, and love of the game.&nbsp;

2. Magic’s Defense Was Great And Should Continue to Be

Magic players said over and over again at media day, and even more so throughout training camp, that defense would be what they hang their hat on. That proved to be legit. Orlando finished with the league’s third-best defense (No. 1 after All-Star break) and held its opponent under 100 points 23 times, tied with Minnesota and New York for most.&nbsp;

While everyone did their part, the two that went above and beyond defensively were Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac. Opponents shot just 39.1 percent with Isaac contesting, per Second Spectrum. That was third best among players who contested at least 300 shots and best among non-guards. Suggs did his best work following the All-Star break, when opponents shot just 37.9 percent with him contesting, fifth best among those during that time frame with 200-plus contests.&nbsp;

3. Kia Center Has Turned Into One of Best Home Courts

Overall, in the regular season, the Magic went 29-11 in their home arena. The only Eastern Conference teams with better home records than Orlando were Boston and Milwaukee.&nbsp;

Also, the Magic went a perfect 17-0 against sub-.500 teams at Kia Center. Boston, OKC and Denver also didn’t lose at home against those teams, but with fewer opportunities. The Celtics were 16-0, while the Thunder and Nuggets were each 15-0.&nbsp;

The Magic then went on to win all three of their home playoff games against the Cavs, including in Games 3 and 4 by a combined 61 points. They were the first team ever in a playoff series to win Games 3 and 4 by a combined 60-plus points after losing the first two games.&nbsp;

4. No Surprise, But the Regular Season Matters (A lot)

One of the biggest fallacies in the NBA is that it’s fine to coast in the regular season. Just make the playoffs, and then you’ll turn it on when the stakes are higher, many have in the past said.&nbsp;

History, however, tells a much, much different story. Rarely do lower-seeded playoff teams advance far in the postseason. Yes, the Heat made the Finals last year as a No. 8 seed. The Knicks were also a No. 8 seed when they reached the Finals in 1999, which was a lockout-shortened season. Those are exceptions. The reality is, most of the time, teams seeded between one and four in their respective conferences are the ones who are in position to go on deep playoff runs, no matter how close the final regular season standings were.&nbsp;

Just look at this year’s first-round results. In the West, the No. 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds advanced. The No. 4-seeded Clippers didn’t have Kawhi Leonard most of their series against the Mavs. In the East, the No. 1, 2, 4 and 6 seeds advanced. The No. 3-seeded Bucks didn’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo in their series against the Pacers, and Damian Lillard missed two of those games.&nbsp;

The bottom line for the Magic going forward is they must take every regular season game seriously because one game could be the difference between going on a deep playoff run versus being ousted in the first round. If they were at home in Game 7 against the Cavs rather than in Cleveland, just think about how different things might be right now.&nbsp;

5. Magic Have An Amazing Coaching/Training Staff

Making a 25-win jump across a two-year span is not common, especially for a young team. But that’s precisely what the Magic accomplished, going from 22 wins in 2021-22, to 34 wins in 2022-23, to 47 wins in 2023-24. Head coach Jamahl Mosley, who finished second behind OKC’s Mark Daigneault for the Coach of the Year award this season, and his entire coaching staff have done an incredible job steering this group in the right direction.&nbsp;

All year, the Magic stuck to their principles and didn’t change who they were. They understand what their strengths were. They knew it had to be done by committee. That’s the buy-in that’s necessary to make major strides.

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2023-24 Exit Interviews: Paolo Banchero

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2023-24 Exit Interviews: Franz Wagner

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2023-24 Exit Interviews: Jeff Weltman

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2023-24 Exit Interviews: Jamahl Mosley

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5 Things Learned About the Orlando Magic During the 2023-24 Season

ORLANDO - Not many teams can say that their two best offensive players are also very good defenders. One of the few that can, however, are the Orlando Magic, who have been just as good defensively in their first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers as they were throughout the regular season.

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have both been superb defensively in this series. They’ve each had spectacular offensive games as well – Banchero in Games 3 (31 points, five assists, zero turnovers) and 5 (39 points, four assists), particularly, and Wagner in Game 4 (34 points, four assists, zero turnovers). 

What they are doing defensively deserves more praise, though. Here’s some data to back that up:

There are 49 players so far in these playoffs who have contested at least 50 shots. Opponents have shot under 40 percent against just 15 of them. Among those 15 are Banchero and Wagner.

The Cavs are shooting just 28 percent on 50 attempts with Wagner as the nearest contesting defender, per Second Spectrum. The only other player with a defensive field goal percentage under 30 percent is Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., who appeared in just four of the Heat’s five games played against the Celtics.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Cleveland is shooting just 36.1 percent with Banchero contesting. That ranks ninth among those 49 qualified players.&nbsp;

Both being 6-foot-10 is a factor. When they have contested perimeter shots, which is something the Magic as a whole have done exceptionally well throughout this series, the Cavs have struggled mightily. With Wagner contesting, the Cavs are 4-of-25 (16 percent) from 3-point range. Against Banchero, they are 7-of-28 (25 percent).&nbsp;

None of this should come as a surprise, though. Both were very good defensively during the regular season, and, in many ways, got better on that end as the season went along.

“Franz throughout the year has just continued to improve defensively – willing to take on all challenges,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “When we go into that switch package, his ability to sit down and guard, his length, his timing, his basketball IQ – all of those things play a big factor in him becoming and continuing to grow into a great defender.”

“He’s a winner,” Mosley said of Banchero. “That’s who he is…He’s going to find whatever way necessary to help his team win – whether that’s scoring, rebounding, defending. Whatever that looks like, that’s the young man he is.”&nbsp;

The Magic, so far, have the second-best defensive rating (98.9) in these playoffs. Only the Thunder have a better mark.&nbsp;

The Cavs are shooting 43 percent overall and 28.7 percent from beyond the arc. They’re also averaging 14.4 turnovers, largely because of Orlando’s defensive pressure and intensity.&nbsp;

Those who were unfamiliar with how special of a duo Banchero and Wagner are prior to these playoffs are now certainly more aware.&nbsp;

“That’s why our teammates look to us to lead the guys – as we are supposed to step up in the biggest games, in the biggest moments,” Banchero said. “I don’t think either one of us felt like it was an out-of-body experience or anything. I think that’s just what we are here to do.”

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Game 5: Franz Wagner

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Game 5: Paolo Banchero

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Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner’s Defense Has Been Top-Notch in Playoff Series Against Cavs

CLEVELAND - The No. 1 curiosity right now going into Game 5 of this first-round playoff matchup between the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers is how many times in the NBA a team has overcome a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.  

Well, it’s happened 27 times out of 342 such occurrences, per Land of Basketball.&nbsp;Including the Magic-Cavs series, there are four series currently going on that started 2-0.&nbsp;

Just in the last three seasons alone, six times a team overcame a 2-0 series deficit. Last year, the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the postseason after going down 0-2. In 2022, the Dallas Mavericks did the same against the Phoenix Suns in the conference semifinals.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Of those 27 total times, five were such where the team that won the series lost the first two games at home. Most recently that happened in 2021 when the Clippers lost the first two games in L.A. to the Mavs before claiming the series in seven games.&nbsp;

Also, 14 times the series ended in six games and 13 times it ended in seven – so just about a 50/50 split. The Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals against the Suns were the last team to win a series in six games after trailing 0-2.&nbsp;

Best-of-five series existed prior to the 2003 season. If you include those, there have been 33 series victories by teams that fell behind 0-2.

All four games of this current Magic-Cavs series have been decided by at least 10 points. By winning Game 3 by 38, the third-largest margin of victory in Orlando postseason history, and Game 4 by 23, the Magic became the first NBA team ever to win Games 3 and 4 by a combined 60-plus points after trailing the series 0-2.&nbsp;

In the second half of Game 4, Orlando held Cleveland to 29 points, tied for the fewest allowed after halftime in Magic playoff history.&nbsp;

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have already done something this series that hadn’t been done by a Magic pair since the mid-90s. With Banchero scoring 31 in Game 3 and Wagner scoring 34 in Game 4, they became the first Magic duo since Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal in 1996 to each have 30-plus points in consecutive postseason games.

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Magic Practice: Jamahl Mosley (4/29)

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Orlando Magic Looking to Become Latest Team to Win Playoff Series After Trailing 0-2

ORLANDO - Through a full week of the playoffs, there are only two teams with a defensive rating under 100. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who are up 3-0 on the New Orleans Pelicans, are one of them. The other are the Orlando Magic, who evened up their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon with a second straight resounding win at Kia Center.

The Cavs, through the first four games, are averaging just 91.3 points on 42.9 percent overall floor shooting and a playoff-low 26.7 percent 3-point shooting.

A big factor in Cleveland’s perimeter shooting struggles is Orlando’s combination of length and contesting frequency.&nbsp;

This stat tells a big piece of that story: Of the 120 3-pointers the Cavs have taken so far this series, 72 have been heavily contested, per Second Spectrum. That’s 60 percent of Cleveland’s 3-point attempts. The Cavs have only made 25 percent of them.&nbsp;

While four games are a relatively small sample size, those are unprecedented playoff numbers. Since this stat started getting tracked in 2014, never has a team in the playoffs heavily contested 60-plus percent of the opponents’ 3-point shots while also holding them to under 30 percent 3-point shooting.&nbsp;

The Cavs have been bothered by the Magic’s collective size.&nbsp;

While this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering Jonathan Isaac is arguably pound-for-pound the best defender in the league, the Cavs are 0-of-8 from 3-point range with the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder contesting. Meanwhile, they are 0-of-5 from beyond the arc with Wendell Carter Jr. contesting.&nbsp;

Others are causing havoc as well. The Cavs are 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from downtown with Franz Wagner contesting. Of the 15 players who have contested at least 20 threes so far, that ranks No. 1. Paolo Banchero is also one of those 15 players, and Cleveland has made just five of its 20 3-pointers with the 2024 NBA All-Star contesting.&nbsp;

The job the Magic have done on Cleveland’s 3-point snipers has been extraordinary. Max Strus is 2-of-16 from 3-point land with a contest, while Georges Niang is 1-of-9.&nbsp;

Donovan Mitchell has also struggled. He’s 7-of-27.&nbsp;

As we saw in the third quarter of Saturday’s Game 4, in which the Magic held the Cavs to just 10 points that frame, there aren’t many ways to evade a locked-in Orlando defense.&nbsp;

“You give us a two-and-a-half, three-minute stretch where we can play the defense that we are known to play, we can (build) the lead on any game,” Isaac said. “That’s a part of what makes us dangerous, and we were able to showcase that tonight.”

In the regular season, the Cavs averaged 13.5 made threes per contest, seventh-most in the league. So far in these playoffs, they are averaging only eight makes from downtown.&nbsp;

Although it’s not abnormal for the home team to win the first four games of a playoff series, the sheer gap in how both Orlando and Cleveland have played on their home floors is significant. Each game has been decided by at least 10 points and the average margin of victory in this series is 21.2.

Obviously, the Cavs can win this series without winning a game in Orlando. The Magic – whether it’s in Game 5 or, if necessary, Game 7 – will have to find a way to come up big on the road.

“We’re not satisfied at all,” Franz said. “We just got two wins. We need two more against them, so we’ve got to stay locked in and you know, hopefully get the next game in Cleveland.”&nbsp;

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Game 4: Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac

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Orlando Magic's Defense, Just Like the Regular Season, Has Been Elite in Playoffs

CHARLOTTE - Since the All-Star break, the Orlando Magic have the NBA’s No. 1 defense. Only one opponent in this time – the Indiana Pacers on March 10 – have scored at least 110 points against them, and in seven of the 21 games, they’ve held the other team to under 100 points.

Every single Magic player – in one way or another – has made their presence felt defensively. Opposing coaches have said throughout the year that it’s hard generating offense against Orlando because they just simply don’t have any weak defenders to target in one-on-one situations or in switching. The Magic’s defensive versatility is special.

Here are several individual defensive stats that really stand out:

Nobody is making it harder to score in the paint than Jonathan Isaac. The 6-foot-10, 230-pounder is holding opponents to a league-low 40.1 percent on contested paint shots (min. 150 attempts). To better grasp just how impressive that percentage is, here’s the top 10 list among bigs (per Second Spectrum):

In isolation, Paolo Banchero is tied for No. 1 in the league in forcing opponents into turnovers. The pre-draft narrative that he was a poor defender coming out of Duke has turned out to be a complete fallacy. The players he’s tied with in this category are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and James Harden. All three have done this 16 times, per Second Spectrum. Franz Wagner, meanwhile, has done this 10 times, tied for 19th most.

Franz is also one of the best at using his blend of size, instincts and anticipation when defending drives. He has forced the second-most turnovers when guarding a drive with 49 of them, per Second Spectrum. Only SGA has forced more turnovers. Banchero has done this 40 times, tied for ninth-most.

Not many players do a better job getting over screens in pick-and-roll action and forcing handlers into tough situations than Jalen Suggs. The third-year pro out of Gonzaga ranks third in the league in causing turnovers without a switch following an on-ball screen with 1.3 of them per 100 possessions. Another Magic player excellent at making things difficult on opponents in non-switching pick-and-roll is Cole Anthony. Opponents are shooting just 38.5 percent when Anthony defends a shot after staying connected to the handler after an on-ball pick. That’s the third lowest mark among players who have defended at least 150 of these shots. Only Isaac Okoro and Jaden McDaniels rank higher.

Moe Wagner has drawn the third-most charges in the league with 24 of them. Only Brandin Podziemski (34) and Jalen Brunson (28) have taken more. But let’s keep in mind that Podziemski averages 26.7 minutes per contest and Brunson averages 35.1, while Moe averages 17.8.

Since the All-Star break, opponents are shooting a league-low 38.7 percent from the field with Suggs as the nearest defender (min. 150 attempts). Here’s how individual players have fared with Suggs as the closest defender in this time (per Second Spectrum):De’Aaron Fox: 1-for-6Darius Garland: 1-for-3Scoot Henderson: 2-for-9Jaden Ivey: 2-for-7Stephen Curry: 3-for-7Cam Thomas: 0-for-3Keyonte George: 1-for-5Against players his height or shorter (so 6-foot-5 or below), Suggs has held those opponents to 36.4 percent shooting since the All-Star break. Opponents taller than 6’5, meanwhile, have shot 47.5 percent against him (far fewer attempts).

Not many players, if any, are better pressuring handlers that bring the ball up the court than Suggs. There have been 389 instances, per Second Spectrum, where he has done this – either in the backcourt or just past the time line, which is fifth-most in the league. Of those occurrences, 34 times the ball handler has ended up committing a turnover, third-most.

Only De’Aaron Fox and Alex Caruso have forced more turnovers in these instances, however Fox, who averages nine more minutes of playing time than Suggs and seven more than Caruso, has pressured the bring-up handler 479 times, third-most in the league. Jaden McDaniels leads the NBA in most times pressuring the handler.

Since the All-Star break, opponents are shooting just 29.4 percent from 3-point range when Wendell Carter Jr. contests, per Second Spectrum. Among non-guards in this time frame with at least 30 contests, that ranks 16th and fifth among centers (Adebayo ranks No. 1).

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Key Individual Stats Helping the Orlando Magic Be One of the NBA’s Elite Defensive Teams

Not many players, if any, are better pressuring handlers that bring the ball up the court than Jalen Suggs. There have been 375 instances, per Second Spectrum tracking data, where the 6-foot-5 Orlando Magic guard has done this – either in the backcourt or just past the time line, which is fifth-most in the league. Of those occurrences, 33 times the ball handler has ended up committing a turnover, second-most.&nbsp;

Only De’Aaron Fox has forced more turnovers in these instances, however Fox, who averages nine more minutes of playing time than Suggs, has pressured the bring-up handler 455 times, third-most in the league. Jaden McDaniels of the Minnesota Timberwolves leads the NBA in most times pressuring the handler.&nbsp;

Also special about Suggs is his ability to stay connected to his opponent in pick-and-roll action. The Magic, as a team, opt to not switch all that much in these situations, and that’s largely because of how good their guards are at getting over screens and preventing opponents from creating quality shots. In most cases, that handler ends up having to pass the ball because of the pressure applied by the Magic’s defenders going over the screen. Both Suggs and Cole Anthony rank in the top 25 in forcing handlers to pass the ball after not switching in a pick-and-roll/pop, per data.

Suggs is one of only four players at the moment with 150-plus deflections, 40-plus loose balls recovered, and five-plus charges drawn. The others are Alex Caruso, Paul George and Herb Jones. These types of plays have a way of shifting momentum during games, especially at home when the crowd rallies around the effort. The Magic, as a team, rank in the top 10 in both deflections and charges drawn, and are in the top 15 in loose balls recovered.

There have been 94 players who have been the closest defender to a shot in the final three minutes of regulation or an overtime with the score differential within three at least 10 times. Suggs, who has guarded 13 shots in these time-and-score circumstances, is tied with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaren Jackson Jr., D’Angelo Russell, and Ayo Dosunmo for the third-best defensive field goal percentage (23.1 percent) in these pressure-packed moments. LeBron James, interestingly enough, ranks No. 1 in this category (14.3 percent).&nbsp;

A team that is third in defense deserves to have All-Defensive Team representation. Orlando is unique in that it is loaded with defensive talent. Jonathan Isaac, although ineligible to make an All-Defensive Team because he will fall below the league requirement of playing in at least 65 games, is arguably the best defender in the league. Franz Wagner is one of the most underrated defenders. Paolo Banchero continues to silence the critics who said defending was his weakness coming out of college. And the list goes on and on. Among the things the Magic do exceptionally well defensively are force turnovers, clean up the glass, and make opponents shoot a low percentage from 3-point range when those shots are contested.&nbsp;

Not only has he been outstanding defensively, but the 22-year-old has significantly improved his outside shooting. Through 65 games this year, he’s shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range. His rookie campaign he shot 21.5 percent, and last year he shot 32.7 percent.

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5 Reasons Why Jalen Suggs Deserves To Make An All-Defensive Team

This award often goes to the coach whose team exceeded expectations the most. Last year, for example, Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings won this honor after his team won 59 percent of their games a year after winning just 37 percent of them the year before. Three seasons ago, Tom Thibodeau received it after his New York Knicks won 57 percent of their games a year after winning just 32 percent of them.&nbsp;

The Orlando Magic are on pace to make a similar jump. This year, so far, they’ve won 59 percent of their games. Last season, they won 41 percent of them, and the year before that, they won just 27 percent of the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Only once before in franchise history have the Magic won at least 60 percent of their games two years after winning under 30 percent of them. That was in the early 90s with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. In 1991-92, they won 26 percent of their games and two years later, with O’Neal in his second year and Hardaway in his first, they won 61 percent of the time.&nbsp;

It seems fair to say that there are six legitimate candidates for this award this year. They are the Magic’s Jamahl Mosley, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, the Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.B. Bickerstaff, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Willie Green.&nbsp;

Of these teams, the only one that didn’t have a single All-Star on their roster coming into the season were the Magic. In fact, the Celtics have five players on their roster that had been All-Stars before this season, the T-Wolves four, the Cavs three, the Pelicans two and the Thunder one.&nbsp;

Mosley has helped each of his players make tremendous strides this year. Paolo Banchero is now an All-Star, despite being just a second-year player. Franz Wagner’s numbers are up across the board. Jalen Suggs is a candidate for an All-Defensive Team and the Most Improved Player award. Both Moe Wagner and Cole Anthony are in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation. If the Comeback Player of the Year award still existed, meanwhile, Jonathan Isaac would be a lock for it.&nbsp;

Since Jan. 28, the Magic are 19-7. The Celtics and Denver Nuggets are the only two teams with higher winning percentages in this timeframe. Meanwhile, since the All-Star break in mid-February, Orlando ranks No. 1 in defense.&nbsp;

Even though the Magic have the fourth-youngest roster age-wise, they are remarkably composed. In fact, they have a league’s highest winning percentage this season when leading going into the fourth quarter (35-1; 97.2 percent). Last season, they were 24-6 in this situation and the year before that just 14-9.&nbsp;

Of the teams with Coach of the Year candidates, only the Magic didn’t make the postseason last year. The Celtics, T-Wolves and Cavs were in the playoffs, while the Thunder and Pelicans were in the play-in tournament. In addition to that, Orlando has a chance at being a top three seed in the East. With 11 games remaining, it is just one game back of third place. The Magic have the tiebreaker advantages over the Cavs (assuming Magic win division and Cavs don’t), Knicks and Pacers – which are the teams presently in third, fourth and sixth place, respectively.&nbsp;

An important narrative this season of the Magic is that they have taken care of business at home against weaker competition. In fact, they are a perfect 14-0 against opponents that are currently under .500 at the Kia Center. At one point that was 15-0, but presently the Houston Rockets, whom the Magic beat at home in the season opener, are 35-35.&nbsp;

It's not common for teams to go an entire season undefeated against the weaker. The 76ers, Pacers, Suns and Heat this season, for instance, are a combined 42-20 against sub-.500 teams in their respective buildings.&nbsp;Orlando still has three games left at Kia Center against teams under .500 (Memphis, Portland and Chicago).

Much of the Magic’s success is tied to preparation. Mosley and his staff have done an outstanding job keeping the team locked in on the opponent at hand.

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5 Reasons Why Jamahl Mosley Should Be the Coach of the Year

ORLANDO - Coming out of the All-Star break, Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley rolled out a starting lineup featuring Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris. When all have been available since then, the Magic are a perfect 8-0. 

In the 144 minutes these five have been on the floor together during this timeframe, the Magic have an offensive rating of 118.2 and a defensive rating of 98.7. Both those marks rank near the top among starting units since the All-Star break.&nbsp;

They’ve been incredibly efficient together, shooting 54.2 percent overall and 42.7 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, opponents have shot just 32.9 percent from beyond the arc against those five.&nbsp;

“I think we are very comfortable right now,” Banchero said. “I think we fit very well together. Everybody can space the floor. Everybody can shoot the three. And then everybody is very versatile on defense. Everybody is interchangeable, switchable. I think on both ends, it helps us a lot. I think we know each other well enough now to where we have a feel for if this guy has it going, or if there that guy has it going, or if this guy has a matchup – and just trying to create whatever advantage that we can out of that lineup.”

Prior to this stretch, these five played just 21 minutes together over four games, including one start, which came in a win over the Jazz in Utah on Nov. 2. So, for the season, the Magic are 9-0 with this starting lineup.&nbsp;

In a 111-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at the Kia Center, the Magic were a plus-11 in the 12 minutes these five were on the floor together.&nbsp;

Banchero had another sensational all-around performance with 29 points on 11-of-16 floor shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point distance. He also had six rebounds and five assists,&nbsp;making it 23 times now he has recorded at least 20 points, five rebounds and five dimes in a game this season.

Franz was also superb, going for 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, his 11th with those aforementioned minimum marks this year. 

The Magic are 17-6 in their last 23 games, the second-best record in this time. Only the Boston Celtics have a better record at 18-3.&nbsp;

Since the All-Star break, a 13-game span for the Magic, Orlando has the league’s second-best defensive rating at 106.9, six-tenths of a point behind the No. 1 ranked New York Knicks, who ironically would be the Magic’s first-round playoff opponent if the regular season ended today. The Magic are just a half-game back of the Knicks for fourth place in the East (they also have the tiebreaker over New York) and 2 ½ games back of the Cavs for third place (Orlando would win tiebreaker over Cleveland if it wins its division and Cavs do not).&nbsp;

Trailing the Magic in the standings are the Indiana Pacers, who are two games back (Magic also own tiebreaker over them), as well as the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers, both 2 ½ games back (each have the tiebreaker advantage over the Magic).

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Raptors Postgame: Paolo Banchero

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Orlando Magic’s Current Starting Lineup Thriving

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We appreciate your understanding and flexibility.

Due to Tropical Storm Nicole, the NBA has announced that the Dallas Mavericks at Orlando Magic game on Wednesday, November 9 will tip-off at 5:30 PM. Amway Center doors open at 4:30 PM.