And nobody still really knows what to make of this NBA in-season tournament experiment. Is it just a sideshow to the NBA season and the games are not overly important beyond their value to the NBA’s regular season? Do these games give young teams actual playoff practice and pressure game practice? Does the cup winner mean anything?
The answer to those questions is. . . uncertain.
To the players, it might still feel like another game. The NBA Cup has not quite taken primacy and importance in the season's big picture. Everyone is still trying to figure out what makes these games more important.
The NBA Cup still feels a bit manufactured in its early incarnations. No one can deny that.
“It’s fun for the fans. I think it’s awesome,” Moe Wagner said after Sunday's win over the Washington Wizards. “Obviously, it brings in money so as a player I’m excited about that. To be honest with you, it does get you a little more excited because the fans are more excited, the court is different. Every time something changes, you get a little more excited about it. At the end of the day, let’s be real, it doesn’t change anything day-to-day.”
That is probably accurate. Players are not as invested in the results of these games in terms of the bigger tournament. At least, not until the very end when the chance to win something is clearly within sight.
It was Wagner after all who asked after the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics on Black Friday last year to sit in first place in the group heading into the final day of group play what the team needed to advance. The Magic PR rep needed a calculator to give him an answer (we did too in the media and math is hard).
Still, because of the stakes and the hype around that final game especially, it felt like last year's Magic team gained something from that experience. It felt like a launching pad for the rest of their season.
The question is whether the team can gain something again in this year's tournament.
Before the season, we looked at the Orlando Magic's group as an especially difficult one with two potential title contenders in the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers heavily favored to win the group. It felt like a chance for the Magic to prove themselves in high-profile games—especially the nationally televised finale in New York on Dec. 3.
Paolo Banchero's injury has changed everything for this team. The Magic have needed a week just to get their footing back under them.
The team does not have the luxury to worry about or focus on trying to advance to the knockout round or get to Las Vegas to win the whole thing, they need to hold the boat steady for the bigger picture of their playoff chase.
But that is a reason in itself why these games are important.
Now that the Magic have found some stability, they need a test to show they can still compete. More than compete, they need a test to show they can still win and do more than simply hold the boat steady until Banchero's return.
The NBA Cup is a proving ground for a Paolo-les team
The NBA Cup—beginning with Tuesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets—is a chance to prove themselves again.
The good news for the Magic is the Eastern Conference has not run away from them. Entering Tuesday's game, the Magic are sitting at 5-6 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Only two teams have records better than .500.
That speaks to the opportunity that is still in front of this team. Despite Banchero's injury, the Magic are still in a position to take control over their main goal of gaining homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
To that point, the games against the Philadelphia 76ers (2-7, 12th in the East) on Friday and that finale against the New York Knicks (4-5, 6th in the East) could be vital to gaining separation from the preseason favorites to gain playoff spots.
At least on paper, the Magic's game against the Indiana Pacers (5-5, 3rd in the East) on Wednesday outside of the NBA Cup could be just as important—the Magic and Pacers split their first two meetings and do not play a fourth game until the season's penultimate game.
But as things are composed now, the Orlando Magic have to fight off the other teams in their NBA Cup group too. The Charlotte Hornets are 4-6 and eighth in the East and the Brooklyn Nets are 5-6 and fifth in the East (tied with the Magic).
Orlando cannot afford to overlook any teams.
That goes double because the Magic are still figuring themselves out too without Banchero.
The Magic are focused on themselves far more than anyone else. And they still have to prove themselves against quality competition, struggling to compete against some heavy hitters in the Western Conference.
The general thought when Banchero suffered his injury was that Orlando needed to stay in the race. The hope was that the team could hang around the playoff race and then vault up the standings when he returned and got back up to speed.
With the way the East is breaking, the Magic should be viewing this as an opportunity to stay ahead.
Right now Orlando needs the confidence to compete and the belief they can still beat the best teams in the league. This whole period is a test of the team's culture and resolve to play without its best player.
These NBA Cup games and the next month—including a very difficult stretch in December—will set the Magic up for what they can do in the spring. This is a period they need to be successful.
The NBA Cup games are a good proving ground once again.
NBA Cup play propelled the Orlando Magic last year
Last year, the Orlando Magic used the NBA's In-Season Tournament as a launching pad for their season, even with the injuries the team faced with Wendell Carter and Markelle Fultz out.
The young team began its nine-game win streak in its In-Season Tournament win against the Chicago Bulls (the second win of that streak). The streak included the hallmark win over the Celtics on Black Friday.
They did not reach the knockout round. But the point was made. The team gained confidence for the rest of the season.
Winning the In-Season Tournament may have been unimportant in the end—after all, the Los Angeles Lakers won the thing last year and ended as the 7-seed in the West—but it mattered to the team. They could reference it as a point in the season when they gained belief in their potential and felt a little bit of winning pressure for the first time.
Orlando got a lot of that last year even if the team did not advance out of the knockout round. One of the team's ultimate lessons in that moment was that every game matters and a 20-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets to open the tournament cost the Orlando Magic that chance to advance.
Every game matters.
This year’s team is a different team. The Magic made the playoffs last year and are playing with a new level of poise and composure.
Orlando does not need the “playoff practice” as they did last year. But they can still get something out of these games.
What the Magic have to prove then is that they can compete and win without Banchero. And while they do not need the playoff experience anymore—and maybe their group is a different challenge than we expected in August—they need the confidence to compete against quality teams again.
They need to feel that winning pressure and overcome it and succeed.
The Magic do not need to advance in the NBA Cup to deem it a success. But they need to compete and prove their team for the next month and a half can compete and do more than keep the boat steady without Banchero.
These games matter for that at least.