The Magic have started the preseason, which means superstar Paolo Banchero is getting ready for his third season in the NBA. He was already named an All-Star in just his second season, and he plans to keep the accolades coming along with team success.
Banchero is coming off a season in which he averaged 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 45.5/33.9/72.5 shooting splits in 35 minutes per game. These are outstanding stats for a second-year player and have Magic fans exhausting their imagination on how these stats will look year after year.
Banchero's all-around game is what truly makes him special. His play style is very similar to that of LeBron James. This is not to say the third-year star is anywhere in the same category as James, but he does resemble a young James strictly based on their play styles.
Both are big strong forwards that can score on all three levels but excel at getting to the basket and shooting the mid-range shot. They both can also grab rebounds from the forward position, and they both are excellent playmakers for their size.
He may not accomplish all that James did, but his play style makes him an impossible cover and it is exciting to watch, and see his progression from Duke to year three in the NBA. Although his main goals this year probably have to do with the team winning, getting a high seed, and making it past the first round, there are a couple of individual goals he should look to accomplish.
Goal #3: Average around 25 points per game
Paolo Banchero had a great season offensively, but going into year three is where he can really make the big jump. He already averaged 22.6 points per game last year, and the scary part is that there are so many areas in which he can improve and get better. He has been a 20-point-per-game scorer since he entered the league, but 25 points per game is normally the mark of an elite scorer, and Banchero is very capable of reaching that.
There are some simple ways for Banchero to get a few extra points every game and raise his average. He is already elite at getting to the rim and scoring from the mid-range, but raising his three-point percentage and free-throw percentage could make the difference for his average and getting a few more wins.
The three has never been Banchero's go-to shot, but his range has been expanding in a league where you have to be able to spread the floor to stay on it. Last season Banchero took 4.4 threes per game and made 1.5 of them, making him a 33.9 percent three-point shooter. Expecting Banchero to be a 40 percent three-point shooter with his offensive workload and playstyle is a bit unrealistic, but getting that number up to the 37-38 percent mark could make all the difference and force defenses to guard him more on the perimeter.
There are a few ways he can do this besides being in the gym in the offseason and working on his shot. The first is working on his shot selection from deep. Banchero shot 36.4 percent on catch-and-shoot threes, but only 32.2 percent on off-the-dribble threes. Making sure he is taking shots in rhythm and off the catch instead of taking off the dribble threes will boost his numbers.
Banchero is known to take a lot of side-step and step-back threes, which can be effective at some points, but should not be a go-to and rather more of a last resort. Banchero can get better shots a lot of the time and should try getting to his spots more.
Another problem with these shots is they often draw contests. Banchero shot 36.3 percent on open to wide-open threes, and just 17.1 percent on contested threes. Although he is an improving 3-point shooter, he is not at the point yet where he should be forcing these shots up. Hopefully, Franz Wagner finding his shot again and the addition of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will lower his three-point attempts, or at least the contested ones.
He also needs to work on his corner three, the easiest three in basketball. Banchero is a rare player, shooting exceptionally well from the wings and top of the key but just 25 percent from the corners.
Aside from his threes, Banchero needs to work on hitting his free throws. He does a great job of getting to the line, taking seven free throws per game, which was eighth in the league last year. The only problem is he is shooting just 72.5 percent from the line. This is not great, and if he wants to be a true superstar, he needs to get to at least 75 percent. Hopefully, he can get closer to 80 percent.
The last way he can up his scoring is by making sure his conditioning is good and that he is in the best shape of his life. The NBA season is long and draining physically and mentally and people have to remember that Banchero has only played in two NBA seasons so far, so he is just getting used to it now.
Banchero saw a bit of a drop-off post All-Star break. His numbers dipped as the long season was nearing its end. He eventually did pick it back up and had one of the most impressive playoff series a player had last year. But in what ended up being a tight Eastern Conference, a little bit better play and another win or two could have changed the Magic’s seeding and the outcome of their season.
Before the All-Star break, Banchero averaged 23 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent from three. Post All-Star break, he averaged 21.6 points per game on 44 percent shooting from the field and 28.8 percent from three. This is nothing majorly concerning as his scoring only dropped off slightly and his other stats, like assists and rebounds, actually improved. He just needs to make sure he gets his legs under him and is still scoring at an elite rate in the home stretch of the season.