Months removed from the Desmond Bane acquisition, all the anticipation led to last night's 125-121 victory over the Miami Heat, where Orlando's core four proved to be a clear threat to win the Eastern Conference.
The city of Orlando was buzzing, not only to see Desmond Bane make his regular-season debut with the Magic, but also to witness the highly anticipated return of Jalen Suggs. The contributions from the Magic's core four and depth propelled them to a big-time victory, and this appears as if it's the beginning of something special.
Desmond Bane shines in Magic debut
Desmond Bane was everything that Jeff Weltman and this front office envisioned when they traded for him back in mid-June.
Bane in the first quarter of play made an immediate impact, scoring ten points and knocking down two shots from behind the arc to set the home crowd on fire. That second three being a beautiful stepback over the outstretched arms of Nikola Jovic as the shot clock was winding down.
Bane finished the evening with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, and shot an efficient three of six from distance.
"He brings a calm, but he also brings a toughness," Jamahl Mosley on Desmond Bane. "You saw him bringing the group together...and I think his ability to do that for this group says a lot."
Jalen Suggs returns to the floor
270 days is how long it has been since Jalen Suggs has played in an NBA game, and this team was ecstatic to have him back on the floor. Suggs hadn't played in a game since January 25th and didn't play a single minute of preseason basketball, but his presence was felt in his limited time on the floor.
In just 17 minutes of play, Suggs recorded 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and knocked down two shots from 3-point range. It goes without saying, but Suggs continued to bring the energy on both ends of the floor all night long.
Jamahl Mosley was very excited to have Suggs back in the lineup and was fond of the performance that his team displayed last night.
"It's going to continue to be an ongoing process," Mosley said. "But it was great to see because it had been a long time, and I almost forgot what it looked like...and 1 of 82, but we'll take this one right now and we'll continue to get better and keep building in the process that we're putting together."
Desmond Bane was just as excited to play alongside Suggs and had high praise for his new teammate.
"He's a game changer," Bane said of Suggs. "I tell him all the time he's the heart and soul of this thing. Without him, we'd still be a good ball club. But he's the guy that really puts us over the top."
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero shine
It's no secret that Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are one of the top duos in the NBA, and that was on full display on Wednesday evening.
The Magic star-studded duo combined for 48 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. It was a breath of fresh air to see that they not only had performed well, but that they had help across the board.
Tristan da Silva scored 16 off the bench, Wendell Carter Jr played his role, and Desmond Bane actually led the team with a team-high 30 percent usage rate.
"The expectations are exciting, the pressure is exciting," Banchero said of Orlando's expectations. "It's a privilege for people to have very high expectations for your team — It was a very good first showing, and the sky is the limit."
Alleviating this pressure off of Banchero and Wagner will do wonders for this team, and expectations are now higher than ever in Orlando.