With nine games left in the regular season, the Magic are pretty much locked into the Play-In Tournament. Unless the Magic fall to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, they will have two chances to secure a playoff spot to face either the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While that was not the team’s goal for this season, things could look much worse now, considering all the injuries the Magic had to deal with this season. Plus, the Magic are currently on a 3-game win streak they can extend against the Dallas Mavericks.
Paolo Banchero has looked great in March, back to his All-Star form, and the Magic can still end the season on a high note. Their X-factor to accomplish that is not Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner. Everyone knows that those two will come out strong and provide the majority of the Magic’s offense.
Anthony Black looks ready to be the Magic’s X-factor to close out the season
After a rather quiet rookie season, Anthony Black entered the 2024-25 season with a bigger role waiting for him. He quickly became one of the Magic’s key players off the bench, providing valuable playmaking and defense. With Jalen Suggs out for the rest of the season and Cole Anthony dealing with a toe injury, Black’s role has grown even more recently.
He has responded well, putting together a solid stretch in March. Black is currently averaging 10 points on 47.7 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent shooting from three, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He scored at least 13 points in four of his last five games.
That scoring has been invaluable for the Magic, who desperately need other players than just Banchero and Wagner to create offense. Black’s three-point shooting has been just as exciting. The 21-year-old is not taking a ton of threes, averaging 2.8 attempts per game in March, but he is converting them at a high clip. So far, March is his best 3-point shooting month of the season.
3-point shooting has long been an issue for the Magic and is something they desperately need to address this offseason. As a team, the Magic are shooting only 31.2 percent from three. It has hurt the team’s offense and is not an issue the Magic can fix through internal improvement. Even so, seeing Black improve from three is definitely a bright spot in a season filled with injuries and frustration.
The Magic’s road after the end of the regular season will not be easy. First, they will have to fight their way through the Play-In Tournament and then face one of the two best teams in the league. Nevertheless, the extra experience will be important for the Magic, and maybe they can end the season on a high note by finding at least some success in the postseason.
Banchero and Wagner playing at an All-Star level will be the key to that, but Anthony Black looks ready to contribute in a major way as well. If he can continue to score double-digit points consistently and shoot the three well, it could make a real difference down the stretch for the Magic. Even if it does not lead to winning a playoff series, the Magic would be able to go into the offseason feeling pretty good about one of their young players’ development.