Magic Fall to 0-2

Boston, MA— Same stuff, different game for the Magic as they lost to the Celtics 109-100 in Game 2. Boston was without forward Jayson Tatum (wrist), who missed the first playoff game of his career, and Orlando couldn’t take advantage as they’re now down 0-2 in the series.

Banchero and Wagner Lead the Way

Once again, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were sensational, putting together a valiant effort, but couldn’t get the necessary help around them to come out on top. Wagner finished with 25 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals defensively.

Banchero finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks defensively. Just nine games into his playoff career, Banchero already has the fifth-most playoff games in NBA history with 30/5/5 and zero turnovers.

Supporting Cast Not Helping

Orlando’s inefficiencies and lack of floor spacing have hindered this team all year long, and they’re once again getting exposed. Despite not having Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner this Celtics team is clearly more complete from top-to-bottom, even without Tatum, and this Magic team is lacking in so many ways.

Orlando is a team with two bona fide superstars on the rise but very little else around them. The Magic, as a collective, can’t shoot, lack enough players with a bucket-getting-first mentality, have numerous unfavorable contracts, struggle to establish a consistent rotation, and did nothing to support their two stars at the trade deadline, leaving them to feel the impact of that decision to stand pat.

The supporting cast around Paolo and Franz has been nothing short of disappointing and downright awful, to put it lightly. For context, here are Banchero and Wagner’s numbers compared to the supporting cast in the first two games versus Boston.

KCP’s Disappointing Season

The Magic brought in two-time NBA champion and knockdown three-point shooter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this offseason on a three-year, $66-million deal, and it’s turned out to be a very underwhelming addition. KCP, who struggled at the beginning of the year to find his shot, finished the year strong, shooting 30 for 63 (47.6 percent) in the Magic’s last 18 games of the regular season.

That has not carried over in his first two playoff games with the Magic as he’s scored a combined nine points and shot just 2 of 10 (20.0 percent) from distance in the first two games of this series. Kenny was brought here to add another All-Defensive type of talent on the perimeter, but more importantly, to knock down shots from the outside, and it’s been anything but that for the majority of this season.

Other Questionable Moves

This is one of the many questionable moves that Jeff Weltman and the front office made this summer that have put Orlando in this position.

The Magic renegotiated and extended forward Jonathan Isaac to a five-year $84-million deal, and he’s averaging fewer minutes this year (15.4 minutes) compared to last year (15.8 minutes), where he was recovering from an injury. Re-signing other depth players like Gary Harris and Goga Bitadze has not done much for the Magic, and it’s resulted in a lot of DNP’s and just lackluster performances.

Players like Anthony Black have their moments here and there, and I still see the potential at just 21 years of age, but he’s far too inconsistent to be relied upon night in and night out versus one of the best teams in basketball. Other young players like Jett Howard and Tristan da Silva are pushed to the bottom of the depth chart, and it would appear that they’re not tracking in their development if they can’t see the court, even with the notable injuries to Suggs and Wagner.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the Magic were reluctant to make a move at the trade deadline to bolster this roster that has come back to bite them. Orlando didn’t want to “get squeezed” in an attempt to add another scorer or playmaker, and they felt as if the best decision was to stand pat. That is now going to likely raise the price of what the Magic will have to give up this summer for a scorer this offseason, as all 29 other GMs understand that they’re more desperate to add talent around Paolo and Franz.

Coaching Issues

Although the roster construction has been very questionable this season, so have a lot of Jamahl Mosley’s decisions. Mosley’s group has struggled all season long coming out of the halftime locker room, as third quarters have been their Achilles heel.

Mosley has also struggled to figure out a consistent rotation, and that has likely messed up the chemistry and continuity of both the first and second units. Yes, the injuries play a major factor in that, but nonetheless, this has been an ongoing issue for months now. In the playoffs, we see teams usually limit their rotation to eight, maybe a nine-player rotation, and Mosley opted to go 11 deep in Game 2.

Mosley has had other issues, including being reluctant to call timeouts when teams go on runs and the final possessions of tight games. There have also been issues when the team is too heavily reliant on Banchero and Wagner to initiate the offense, set up other players, and there tends to be a lack of flow and movement with the offense at times, causing it to be stagnant.

At the end of the day, it’s on the coaches to coach and the players to perform. Mosley can only do so much in terms of preparation and getting guys in the right spots, and afterward, it’s on the players to knock down jumpers.

Final Thoughts

Orlando’s inefficiencies are being brought into the light, and it’s clear once again how there is accountability and blame to go around. The front office’s moves, or lack thereof, haven’t helped bolster this roster. Injuries have plagued this team; the team doesn’t have any scorers outside of Paolo and Franz, and the team has a lot of retooling to do this offseason if they want to compete at the top of the East next season.