Desmond Bane defends Paolo Banchero as online criticism grows

Last week, Kendrick Perkins went on ESPN's The Jump and declared Paolo Banchero to be the most disappointing player in the NBA this season, anchoring the league's most disappointing team.

It was perhaps the loudest national voice that has found a way to pile on Banchero amid a season that, admittedly, has not hit expectations for either player or team.

This has become the favorite pastime for everyone on the Internet, it seems.

Banchero is a disappointing No. 1 overall pick, unable to reach perennial All-Star status. He is a chucker who puts up empty calorie stats because he does not impact winning. He is the face of the seemingly next team stuck on the Play-In treadmill, with the Orlando Magic sitting in seventh in the East for a second straight year.

There is back and forth. Mostly Magic fans -- and perhaps a parent -- have spent their time defending Banchero, acknowledging the injuries and how vital he has been to the team's resurgence to even be in a place where they could be disappointing.

It is seemingly easy to have an opinion on Banchero. It is much harder to see how he fits into the bigger picture.

The only people whose opinion matters, of course, are the players. His teammates are the only ones who know what he is really about and the impact he has for them.

And amid all the manufactured noise surrounding the 23-year-old forward, his teammates clearly have his back. And nights like Tuesday's 36-point outburst show why there is so much belief and confirmation in the Magic's young star.

"Who cares what's talked about, man," Desmond Bane told Orlando Magic radio voice Jake Chapman in his walk-off interview on Tuesday night. "You see it, bro. He's drawing three, four, five guys. That's all you want.

"Basketball is all about creating an advantage. Every time Paolo Banchero is on the floor, he is creating an advantage just with his talent, with his size and what he can do with the ball. People are always going to talk. That's the business that we're in. We don't pay no mind to that."

Despite any struggles Banchero might have or any further development he needs to go through, he is still a major advantage for the Magic. He faces as many double teams as any player in the league and requires a lot of attention, even when he is not scoring at an elite level.

A clear impact, even while struggling

Teammates know and feel Paolo Banchero's impact every time they step on the floor. They know how valuable he is.

Banchero is having a decent season in a vacuum. He is averaging 21.8 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 5.0 assists per game. He is shooting 45.3 percent from the floor, virtually the same as his previous two seasons, and even has a career-best 55.8 percent true shooting percentage.

As Chandler Parsons put it on Run It Back on FanDuel Sports TV, if this is the worst Banchero is going to be, then that is still a pretty good player and a pretty good season.

Banchero's season was dominated by the two weeks he missed with a strained groin. He turned a corner in early January and has been solid since the calendar turned, averaging 23.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

His true shooting percentage has jumped to 57.2 percent true shooting percentage. That is 32nd among 52 players who average 24 minutes per game and a 25 percent usage rate. That is perhaps not the efficiency that puts him among the elite in the league, but it gets closer to his true impact.

It helps too that the Magic are significantly better now with him on the court, silencing those doubts about his impact on winning.

Since Jan. 1, the Magic have a -0.7 net rating with Banchero on the floor (112.5 offensive rating) and a rotation-player-worst -5.5 net rating with Banchero off the floor (106.8 offensive rating).

There is clearly still room for growth, but whatever issues Banchero had earlier in the season seem to have been resolved. Even if jump shooting is a problem -- even though he is shooting 38.7 percent in the 23 games since Jan. 1 -- Banchero has seemingly turned a corner.

All eyes remain on Banchero

The rest of the season will be important.

The Magic will likely be without Franz Wagner until mid-March (his re-evaluation will come on March 11), and the team is trying to make the climb out of the Play-In Tournament with a manageable but tricky schedule ahead.

This stretch of games feels a bit like a referendum on Banchero. He has a lot to prove for sure in the next few weeks.

The good news is that he has stepped up to the plate. He averaged 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game during the team's four-game West Coast trip.

He capped that off with a 36-point, 10-rebound, six-assist effort in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He had 17 points in the third quarter, carrying the Magic back from a 12-point deficit.

Banchero's teammates know how vital he is. That is ultimatley what matters. They know how much the attention Banchero absorbs helps everyone else.

Banchero has not had the season he or anyone imagined. Even Banchero would admit that. But there is still time to make something of his season and help the Magic climb the standings.

And Banchero has plenty of time to make good on his vast talent. Everyone within the organization, and especially his teammates, believe in that.

That is all that matters.