3 Orlando Magic players who would have excelled in the Playoffs

With the NBA Playoffs now in full swing, it is unfortunate the Orlando Magic came up short in their pursuit of the Play-In Tournament and, subsequently, the postseason proper.

Both the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers took part in the Play-In, before going on to win their first playoff series against much higher seeded opposition.

The Heat especially are an inspiration for how they managed to lose their first Play-In game to the Atlanta Hawks, before beating the Chicago Bulls to make the playoffs before taking out the league-best Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the first round.

We know the Orlando Magic would have had a hard time beating one of the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference if they had done the unthinkable. But as the Magic prepare for their first postseason, they should think about who would thrive in the postseason.

That does not mean we cannot dream about how well some of their players would have gotten on in a seven-game series. After all, it was Markelle Fultz who once took on the Milwaukee Bucks in a series in 2020, and did not look out of place at all.

These playoffs have thrown up some interesting subplots, so it is not as easy as saying the Magic’s best players, such as Fultz, would be the ones to excel.

We need only look at a player like Terrence Ross, at one point such a valuable asset and now buried on the bench of the Phoenix Suns, to know that talent does not correlate to postseason success.

3 Orlando Magic players who would have excelled in the Playoffs.

3. Gary Harris

There is no better place to start here then with swingman Gary Harris, who had himself a solid season with the Magic when he was not out of the rotation through injury.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers had Harris coming off their bench now as they stare down a series with the Golden State Warriors. They feel like they are one shooter away from being a real threat to win it all.

Similarly, the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, two teams who saw their championship dreams end early, could have done with Harris when some of their more established players went cold or didn’t come looking for the ball in later games.

Harris shot 43.1 percent from deep during the season, by far a career high. He did this on 4.5 attempts per night, and while that number would have been easily halved in the postseason, you can bet he would have made enough of the shots he did take in one game to make a difference.

Even better for Harris, he could have done this both as the Magic’s starting 2-guard in a series, although he would have been of more use to a plethora of other teams still in the postseason hunt.

Marcus Smart and Derrick White combined for 16 points in the Boston Celtics’ Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. If you gave Harris 15 of their minutes put together, he could have made something happen.

Luckily for Harris, and like Ross before him, it seems likely he is going to get a chance to prove himself in the playoffs again in the near future. Most likely while playing for a different team.

3 Orlando Magic players who would have excelled in the Playoffs.

2. Wendell Carter

It feels like the center position is going through a rebirth, and there is no doubt Wendell Carter would have raised a few eyebrows had he been able to show what he can do in the playoffs.

It is no coincidence Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid are the two favorites to win this year’s MVP award, and both their teams hold leads in the second round of their respective series.

Putting Carter on their level is of course ridiculous, and yet had the Magic faced either the 76ers or Denver Nuggets, Carter would have been tasked with defending both of these guys the most.

An impossible task, yet one he would have performed admirably. Just look at his numbers against those two. No center in the league likely defends those elite big men better than Carter.

If that is too much of a stretch of a comparison, then Kevon Looney of the Golden State Warriors and DeAndre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns is not.

Both have their uses for their teams, and again both are still in the postseason. Carter Jr. managed 8.5 rebounds this season, as well as a career high 15.2 points on 35.6 percent shooting from deep.

At 23-years-old, Carter is part of this new breed of big men who can protect the paint and rebound the ball on both ends, but also stretch the court and have an impact offensively as well.

The drawn out nature of the postseason would have suited him as well, and whenever he gets a chance to play on that stage, and it is more likely to be with the Magic than not, Carter Jr. is going to gain a whole lot more fans.

3 Orlando Magic players who would have excelled in the Playoffs.

1. Paolo Banchero

It would have been so much fun wouldn’t it? There is absolutely no doubt that the already highly polished offensive game of Paolo Banchero was made for the postseason, and would have garnered him a whole host of new fans.

Even if a much better team like the Bucks would have zoned in on him for the entire series, the Rookie of the Year Banchero would have still gotten the switches he wanted to cause damage, as well as using his already underrated passing to make the right reads.

The Magic would have lost any series against a top two seed, but thanks to the soaring star that Banchero has quickly become, stealing a game at home would not have been completely out of the question.

Really think about that for a second. The offensive ability of a first year player could be the driving force in a playoff win. It is something we sadly did not get to see, but we will and it will be in a Magic uniform when it happens.

Best of all, Banchero will be a much better 3-point shooter when that time comes, and his ability to get to the free-throw line a ridiculous 7.4 times per game is tailor-made for the playoffs.

Banchero has rarely looked flustered on the ball, and the slower nature of the games would actually suit his methodical ability to carve an opponent up. This would have been amazing to see in year one, completely ahead of schedule, but Banchero having big playoff moments will happen.