3 reasons the Orlando Magic have strung wins together

The Orlando Magic find themselves in the midst of an unexpected three-game winning streak. Back-to-back wins over the Toronto Raptors, preceded by an overtime victory over the LA Clippers.

Given the difficult nature of this stretch of the schedule, few saw this run coming. The Magic are still some ways off from the play-in tournament race. But there is no doubt everything seems that bit brighter around Amway Center as Christmas approaches.

It is hard to pinpoint one reason things have broken right for the Magic recently, and really there are three keys to their unexpected success.

With the news that Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is going to miss the rest of the season to have surgery on a troublesome shin, the race to the bottom is as competitive as ever.

The Magic still face an uphill battle to continue winning, and two games against both the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in the next seven days ensure it will not get any easier. But the Magic are happy with how their team is developing and growing in this stretch.

Given how they handled a solid outfit like the Raptors in a back-to-back situation, they should be quietly confident they can hang with an injury-depleted Hawks team especially.

So let us take this time to reflect on what has been one of the best periods of the season, and how the organization made it happen.

3. Their shots have fallen

Basketball can be such a simple game when all is going right for a team. Over the last three games, the Magic have shot 37.6 percent from 3-point range. A great improvement for a group that rank 20th on the season as a whole (34 percent).

During this three-game span, the Magic have been the ninth best team from distance. Encouraging as this is, if we dig deeper we can find the real positives in this 3-point shooting improvement.

Terrence Ross and Gary Harris, on paper the two best long distance shooters on the roster, have had little influence during this span.

Harris has missed all three games through injury, while Ross has gone 2 for 7 during this stretch (in two games he did not make a single three pointer, a rough period by his standards). So to do this while they have been far from their best speaks volumes about the play of others around them.

Equally important is how these numbers have been attained without Wendell Carter. The big man is the closest thing the franchise has to a black hole who sucks opponents into the paint with his drive and physicality, leaving his teammates open to knock down more open shots.

There is no doubt when he returns open looks are going to be even easier to come by. On the flip side of this, both Bol Bol and Mo Bamba have chipped in with timely 3-pointers to keep the offense ticking over (Bamba went 4 for 7 during the stretch).

This number is going to fall again, but to hit these shots against opponents who will likely make the postseason is a positive step for this group.

Coach Jamahl Mosley has been preaching the big picture for a while now, and offensively it has been on display for the last three games.

2. Players have stepped up

An interesting debate broke out on this website last weekend, when the question was posed as to whether you would start or trade guard Cole Anthony if they were the only two options available to you.

The answers were varied and passionate, and this is a fan base that has strong opinions on what he can mean to the organization in future. It is timely then that Anthony has returned from injury and been a real spark for the Magic over the course of these wins.

In that second Raptors win in particular, starting point guard Markelle Fultz really struggled, finishing with seven points and four assists in 23 minutes. It did not matter, as Anthony stepped into that gap to the tune of 14 and 6 in 29 minutes.

It has not been just Anthony however. With Bol Bol continuing to be the breakout player for the Magic this season. At this point it is fair to ask the question if he is a top 50 trade asset in the entire league with how he has played.

With Wendell Carter injured and Mo Bamba more comfortable in a lesser role, Bol Bol has been everything the Magic have needed him to be. In order for the franchise to continue winning games and showing improvement, the second unit and back end of their roster needs to grab these opportunities and deliver.

Chuma Okeke is currently out injured, and while he has the body and type of game to guard some of the better wing players in the league, offensively they look better without him.

The same is true of Carter, and the Magic have stumbled into a rotation that, offensively at least, is capable of putting some of the better teams in the league to the sword. The tricky part will be bottling this and sprinkling it on future lineups when the group are fully healthy.

1. Their dynamic duo are that good

The main reason for the Orlando Magic’s success right now is simple: Both Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are simply that good.

In terms of young tandems with upside, there are few better in the league. Certainly offensively there can no argument.

Best of all, the two seem to have already figured out how to play together. Banchero is getting more of the plaudits, but Wagner is quietly putting together a case to be an All-Star as soon as this season.

He had 34 points in the first win over the Raptors, with the combination of points from both highlighting their importance to the organization.

• Dec. 7 vs Clippers – Wagner/Banchero scored 38 of their 116 points.
• Dec. 9 vs Raptors – Wagner/Banchero scored 57 of their 113 points.
• Dec. 11 vs Raptors – Wagner/Banchero scored 43 of their 111 points.

You cannot put a price on that output. It has kept the Magic in games and allowed them to eat into holes that they have found themselves in.

Returning to the dovetailing nature of both players, and Banchero is just a straight bucket who appears automatic from the midrange.

He is like a young Carmelo Anthony with that grown man body, superb footwork and ability to get to his spots on the court. Wagner is different, cutting and moving excellently without the ball and stepping into pretty much any shot with ease.

As long as these two remain healthy, they will help the Magic win games. More than anything else, their play has propelled the team to some much needed wins. There is no way the franchise can have two All-Stars this season, but more three game stretches like we’ve just seen, and the accolades will follow.