The Orlando Magic are proving that they are more of a complete team than perhaps most around the league realize.
After an up-and-down start to the season in which the Orlando Magic found themselves at 3-2 after a disappointing loss to the Chicago Bulls, the team was going to face their biggest test of the early season. They were going to have to survive a few weeks without Paolo Banchero. During the game against the Bulls on October 30, Banchero was diagnosed with a right torn oblique that was going to keep him out for 4-6 weeks.
Naturally, this injury was viewed as something that would derail the Magic's season. At least for the next month, many assumed that it was going to be tough sledding for the Magic. And in the team's first four games without Banchero, that's exactly how things played out. Orlando quickly dropped four straight games to fall to 3-6 on the season. However, at that point, something changed for the team.
How the Orlando Magic have survived without Paolo Banchero
Since then, the Magic haven't lost a game. Orlando is currently on a six-game winning streak and more specifically, Franz Wagner has begun to put the team on his back. During the team's six-game winning streak, Wager is averaging 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 47 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. But it's not just Wagner who has stepped up during Banchero's absence.
The Magic have very much needed Wagner's offensive explosion to help the team right the ship over the last couple of weeks. However, one other big difference for the Magic over the past six games has been their improving defense. Even stretching toward last season, the Magic have had a strong defense. However, in the six-game winning streak without Banchero, it's been even better.
In the last six games, the Magic have the league's best defense, allowing under 100 points per 100 possessions. Losing a near 30-point-per-game scorer was never going to be something easy for the Magic to overcome. But their improved defense has certainly gone a long way in helping the Magic compensate for the loss.
If anything, what we have learned over the past few weeks is that the Magic are more of a complete team than perhaps many realize. This team is more than just Banchero. And if Banchero remains on the trajectory he was on before his injury, that means Orlando could very well be considered the third-best team in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.