Injury is the perfect time for Paolo Banchero to silence his critics

When Paolo Banchero went out with a torn oblique last year, everyone wondered how the Orlando Magic would survive.

In Banchero's two seasons, he has proven to be an elite scorer and stat sheet stuffer. There were a few (but growing) concerns about his impact on winning. The pressure turned to Franz Wagner to prove he was a worthy running mate and worthy of the max contract the Magic gave him.

Everyone wanted to know whether Wagner was an All-Star.

Those 20 games last November before Wagner suffered his own oblique injury proved Wagner was the real deal, capable of scaling up and propelling the Magic into their future and up the standings.

It has never been and should never be a competition between the Magic's two young stars. But undoubtedly the pressure turned back onto Banchero. Those critics got louder.

And when he struggled to get himself back into shape and was slow out of the gates, everyone began writing him off.

They still have not come back around.

There is very little good news when it comes to Wagner's injury. The Magic are only title contenders and at their best when they have all of their players.

But this period will be good to help Banchero assert himself after returning from his injury and prove he can lead this team efficiently and effectively, putting to rest a lot of the complaints and criticisms about his game.

The spotlight is completely on Banchero now. Everyone is eager to see him step up to the plate.

"I think what we're going to find out and what we're going to have to find out is: Is Paolo Banchero a franchise-carrying, winning player? Because the guy has immense talent, really difficult matchup because of his combination of power and shooting ability and scoring," ESPN analyst Tim Legler said on The Zach Lowe Show on Monday. "Now Banchero has something he didn't have last year when Wagner was out in Desmond Bane, who has been hitting his stride. I think we're going to learn an awful lot about Paolo Banchero."

With Wagner out now, the Magic need a superstar Banchero to carry them.

This is Banchero's moment to show his stats are impactful toward winning and silence a lot of critics who want to poke holes in his game.

Making progress?

The frustrating part about the constant discusion about Paolo Banchero was how it lacked some important context.

The last two years, Franz Wagner has often been the anchor starter for the team's bench groups and played against a lot of weaker lineups while Paolo Banchero went against the top players all the time.

Still, there was no denying that the Magic played worse with Banchero on the floor and Wagner off the floor.

Last year, Orlando had a +9.6 net rating (116.5/107.0 offensive/defensive rating split) with Wagner on the floor and Banchero off the floor, according to DataBallr. It was -9.3 (107.6/116.9) with Banchero on the floor and Wagner off the floor.

That too needed some context as Banchero struggled mightily in the month after returning from his oblique injury. He started to find his rhythm after the All-Star break, averaging 29.0 points per game and shooting a 58.3 percent true shooting percentage. That dovetailed into an impressive playoff showing when he had to take a lot of the tough shots for a shot-poor Magic team.

Banchero started this year slow, scoring-wise. He struggled mightily with his jumper. But he was far more efficient and was more determined to get to the basket.

Before returning from his injury, Banchero was averaging 21.7 points per game and shooting a 57.3 percent true shooting percentage that included averaging 9.3 free throw attempts per game. According to Basketball-Reference's tracking stats, 49.3 percent of his shots have come within 10 feet of the basket, his highest rate since his rookie season.

Banchero certainly can continue to improve his efficiency. But with an additional 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, Banchero was impacting the game elsewhere.

For the first time in his career, the Magic were better with Banchero on the floor than with Wagner on the floor. Orlando had a +2.6 net rating (115.3/112.7) with Banchero on the floor and +1.3 net rating (113.3/112.0) with Wagner on the floor before Banchero's injury.

Banchero has struggled in his first two games since returning from injury. But even including those games, the Magic have a +2.5 net rating (114.7/112.2) with Banchero on the floor and Wagner off the floor. They have a +3.0 net rating (116.9/113.8) with Wagner on the floor and Banchero off the floor.

There is virtually no drop-off. Banchero is impacting winning a lot more this season.

Ready to take charge

The Orlando Magic are in a different place than they were last year when Franz Wagner's injury hit (and when Banchero returned).

The injury Paolo Banchero is returning from is not as big as the one from last year. But Banchero still clearly needs some time to get his legs under him.

As Zach Lowe noted on his podcast, it felt like in Friday's game against the Miami Heat that Paolo Banchero took the lessons everyone wanted from the team's 7-3 run without him and was almost deferring too much as he eased himself back into the lineup.

Banchero averages 3.65 seconds per touch, according to data from Second Spectrum. In his last two games, that was down to 2.77 seconds per touch. He is indeed moving the ball faster.

Some of that will change. The Magic must put the ball in his hands more. But he seems to have bought in that he must move it quicker and use his gravity to get others involved.

That test will come now that he is the lone focus and the lone creator and star on the team.

This is a challenge for Banchero to take all the improvements he was hinting at early in the season before his injury and put them to practice.

But all eyes are on him. If Banchero wants to silence critics and become the best player he can be, these are big moments to show his scoring are not just empty calories but impactful toward winning.