Orlando Magic face growing pressure in tightening Playoff race

It is too difficult to avoid the elephant in the room as teams begin the final quarter of their seasons.

Paolo Banchero acknowledged that he looks at the standings every day. It only highlights how much one game and one moment can flip things and change the storylines and narratives nightly.

The Magic experienced that firsthand on Thursday night.

Down by four with 37 seconds left, Orlando faced the potential of losing to one of the supposed tanking teams in the league. A loss would tumble them down to eighth in the standings and dangerously close to the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks behind them.

It would have been a disaster on par with the Orlando Magic's back-to-back losses to the Toronto Raptors last year that seemed to seal the Magic's fate as a Play-In team.

As Paolo Banchero told it, Desmond Bane told the huddle the Magic would not succumb to that defeat. They would win the game.

Jalen Suggs drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one. Cooper Flagg missed a shot and Jalen Suggs pushed the ball up the court to find Wendell Carter slipping a screen for a dunk with 1.4 seconds left.

The narrative completely changed. The standings completely changed.

The Orlando Magic are a 0.5 game behind the Philadelphia 76ers and 1.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for fifth -- and in a virtual tie with the Miami Heat for seventh. Things change that much based on one night and one slate of results.

That is the nightly pressure the Magic are preparing for now.

"Got to get wins," Banchero said in the locker room after Thursday's win. "We're in a tight race in the standings. A loss tonight would have really hurt us. Glad we won. Every game counts from this point forward."

Expect every game and every day to build on the pressure heading toward the Magic's regular season finale on April 12 in Boston. The standings are tight right now and appear only to be getting tighter.

Pressuring the top teams

The optimist would say the first thing is to believe the best in this team and that they are poised to climb the standings.

The Orlando Magic have been fighting and clawing to stay above water with the injuries they have faced this year. It is a minor miracle that the Magic, for as poorly as they have played, are 33-28 and in the fight to avoid the Play-In Tournament.

The team has started to find its footing at the right moment. The Magic have a +0.3 net rating (113.7 offensive rating/113.3 defensive rating) for the season, signaling the team has played above its stats.

In the eight games since the All-Star break, the Magic are 5-3 with a +5.4 net rating. The 114.0 offensive rating is nothing to write home about, but a 108.6 defensive rating is in the top 10 in the league since the break.

It feels like the Magic are picking up steam -- winning eight of the past 12 overall with only one by double digits.

"We've been here plenty of times this time of the season," Wendell Carter said after Thursday's win. "One game can decide Play-In or a guaranteed playoff spot. It's important for us to take care of as many games as possible. Right now, I think it's 1 or 1.5 games from being out of the Play-In altogether. We have to continue to stack up wins."

There is an opportunity. And the Magic know how vital it is to avoid the Play-In.

The Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with injuries with Joel Embiid set to miss another week with a right oblique strain and V.J. Edgecombe doubtful with a lumbar contusion. The Sixers have lost seven of their last 12.

The Toronto Raptors have fallen back to the pack, too, putting the 5-seed in play. A climb like the team made in 2024, when the Magic were 34-26 at game 60 and sitting in sixth, is still very possible.

All the Magic can do is control themselves and their wins to put themselves in the best position at the end of the season. They cannot undo their season so far nor control what other teams do -- beyond games against the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors ahead.

There is still a lot for the Magic to play for and the potential to climb that is in their hands.

Pressure from below

But they must take care of their business. That is why Thursday's win was so vital. Losing to a bad team like the Dallas Mavericks would have been crushing.

The Miami Heat have found their groove after struggling earlier in the season. They have won six of their last eight and are making a push up the standings after finding their defnesive rhythm.

Miami is virtually tied with Orlando. But the Heat have one more loss. The Magic have two games in hand -- and the two teams play each other March 14 in Miami (the Magic own the tiebreaker).

Further down, the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks continue their surge up the standings.

Charlotte has played like the best team in the league since late December. And the Hawks have won seven of 11 since the trade deadline and acquiring Jonathan Kuminga. They are both coming on strong to get back into this race.

But Orlando has the advantage because it has three fewer losses. The Magic have the advantage in the loss column and more games in hand to hold them off.

With a seven-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Orlando Magic should not feel any danger of missing the Play-In Tournament barring a complete collapse.

It is going to be like this the rest of the season.

"This is a fun time of year to hoop," Jalen Suggs said after Thursday's game. "It's the most competitive time of year. You start to get everyone's best shots. You are dealing with every team playing a full season who don't want to let it all go to waste. These are the moments you live for. This is the time of year you want to play."

The Magic learned in the last two years as they went through their first playoff chase how vital each game can be. They were the 2-seed a week before the end of the season and suffered a three-game losing streak that tumbled them into a win-for-5th, lose-for-8th situation in the last game of the season.

Every game matters.