Losing one star player is something most NBA teams can survive if they are deep enough. The Magic did just that when Paolo Banchero went down with an injury. Franz Wagner elevated his game, establishing himself as an All-Star-level player, and others filled their roles well. Orlando put together a respectable record and has been sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference for most of the season.
Losing two star players is much tougher to deal with, but that is what the Magic will have to do now. Franz Wagner suffered the same injury as Paolo Banchero in the Magic’s most recent game and will miss significant time as well. So, the Magic will have to redefine their identity again. Even with Banchero and Wagner missing a lot of time, the Magic still do not want to miss the playoffs. Pretty much everyone on the roster needs the experience, even if it is only a short first-round series.
Playing in a struggling Eastern Conference certainly works to the Magic’s advantage, but they are embarking on a tough stretch of the schedule and will need players to step up. Banchero’s return should not be too far away by now, but the Magic will still have to play at least a handful of games without either of their stars. The one thing the Magic desperately want to avoid is falling into a hole so deep that even Banchero and Wagner cannot dig them out.
Jalen Suggs already faced a lot of pressure this season when both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were healthy. Rather than chasing a high-level point guard in the offseason, the Magic decided to play Suggs as the starting point guard. It has been a challenge for the 23-year-old, who is averaging four assists but also 2.8 turnovers per game.
Even before the season, it was clear that Suggs would need some time to evolve as a playmaker for the Magic. With both Wagner and Banchero sidelined, he is running out of time. The pressure on Suggs to lead the Magic’s offense as both a playmaker and a scorer just increased indefinitely. Whether that is fair or not is another question.
Jalen Suggs may be a part of the Magic’s core, but he has not yet shown flashes of offensive stardom such as Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. Instead, Suggs excels on the offensive end of the floor and is already one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He will have to continue doing that—defense is the thing that will keep the Magic in most games—while also upping his offensive production.
The Magic’s big offseason move was signing 3-and-D veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Since coming to Orlando, he has struggled with his shot. Usually an excellent 3-point shooter, Caldwell-Pope is only shooting 29.9 percent on the season from behind the arc. That certainly was not what the Magic envisioned when they signed Caldwell-Pope. He was supposed to single-handedly improve the Magic’s 3-point shooting.
It is time for Caldwell-Pope to put his struggles behind him and have a bigger impact on the Magic’s offense. Defensively, he and Suggs already provide the foundation of the Magic’s identity, but now it is time to step up offensively. Without Banchero and Wagner, open or easy shots will be hard to come by. Nevertheless, Caldwell-Pope will have to find a way and continue to encourage his teammates.
Caldwell-Pope is at his best when he can play his role next to one or two stars. Playing a bigger role in the Magic’s offense will be a challenge.
If there is one thing Cole Anthony has consistently provided the Magic with, it is scoring. In his first four seasons with the Magic, Anthony never averaged less than 11.6 points per game. He may not have been the most efficient scorer but he gave the Magic a valuable offensive punch.
Until this season, that is. Anthony has struggled offensively this season and even fell out of Jamahl Mosley’s rotation. Since then, he has given the Magic some encouraging performances and will have to do much more of that.
Without both of the team’s leading scorers out, it seems Mosley will have little choice but to give Anthony another shot. The Magic will need all the offense and scoring they can get, and Anthony is one of the few players on the roster who can just go and get a bucket when the team needs it.
Anthony will get another chance to prove his value and must rise to the challenge now even more than before.
The Magic do not have many offensive-minded players. They built their success on defense and capable two-way players. Jett Howard’s struggles on the defensive end led to him barely playing as a rookie—he spent most of his time with the Magic’s G League team. In Summer League and the Magic’s preseason, he played well but still ended up having to battle for every minute on the court so far this regular season.
Even if he still struggles defensively, Howard could provide a valuable scoring punch. Howard is a good 3-point shooter and can fuel a team’s offense if given the chance. With both Wagner and Banchero sidelined at the moment, it seems, he should get a chance to play. After all, the Magic will need scoring, and Howard can provide just that.
So far in his career, Howard has not received many opportunities to show what he can do on an NBA court. If Coach Mosley calls on him to play now, he must be ready because the Magic will need someone to hit some shots.
Tristan da Silva is not like the typical NBA rookie. He played four seasons of college basketball and is already older than most of the Magic’s main players. The Magic drafted him to be an impactful role player and help the team improve its 3-point shooting. Da Silva quickly garnered comparisons to Franz Wagner as a do-it-all forward.
Now, Magic fans will get a chance to see how accurate those comparisons really were. Da Silva already started 14 games this season and will be pushed into a bigger role once again while both Banchero and Wagner are still sidelined.
The Magic will need someone to play forward minutes who can make plays for his teammates and hold his own on defense. Da Silva fits the archetype, but he is still a rookie and might struggle in a more prominent role for a while.