Does the NBA Cup mean anything?
Maybe this tournament means different things to different teams at different points in the tournament. The Magic used their 2023 tournament to gain confidence and announce themselves as a potential up-and-coming playoff team. Their 2024 tournament was a testament to their culture playing without Paolo Banchero and then without Franz Wagner.
The 2025 tournament? Wherever it ends for the Magic, it may be a statement of how ingrained their culture is. It may be a statement of what they might be able to do in April and May when the Playoffs begin. A statement of intent for the rest of their season.
Whatever that statement might be, the Orlando Magic are moving on to the NBA Cup semifinals for the first time, defeating the Miami Heat 117-108 in a game that felt like a proof of concept for everything the team is building -- from its grit, to its defense, to its resilience, to its faith in its offense since adding Desmond Bane.
The Magic are moving on. And look more and more like a team destined to do something bigger in the spring.
"Everybody wants to win," Bane said after Tuesday's game. "That's the beauty about this team. There are a lot of selfless guys who just want to win and will do whatever it takes to do that."
And this was all without Franz Wagner, missing his first game with a high ankle sprain. There is still so much more to gain.
Perhaps this win puts the league on notice. The Magic are not some flash in the pan.
Defensive identity
Whenever a team is missing a player, it has to rely on its identity more than ever. That is something the Orlando Magic know. They have used the last month to regain their rough-and-tumble defense after struggling out of the gates.
The team goes nowhere without it.
That is what was missing early in the season as the team tried to get its footing. That is what was missing early in Tuesday's game when the Orlando Magic gave up a 15-0 run to start the game and the Miami Heat looked like they would run circles around this team.
There was no climbing back into the season and no climbing back into this game without leaning on that all-important identity.
Nothing could start without that defense.
"You find a way," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday's win. "Whatever it looks like, you find a way to win games. That's the mark of this Magic team. They pull for one another, they are never out of it, and they are just going to keep fighting for one another as the game goes on. They were never rattled, and they sat down and guarded."
The Magic had the game within a point by halftime and took control in the second half. They finished the game, giving up only 104.9 points per 100 possessions to the Heat. Miami had nine of its 19 fast-break points in the opening quarter. The Magic successfully slowed them down.
That is what Orlando has been doing to a lot of teams lately.
The Magic have given up only 109.5 points per 100 possessions in the last 10 games. After its rough start defensively, Orlando has reclaimed a place in the top five in defensive rating at 111.5 points allowed per 100 possessions.
The team's turnaround was sparked by an offense that found its groove. But as the team has struggled to shoot the last few weeks, the team has needed to rely on its defense more.
The Magic have started to resemble last year's tough-nosed defensive team more and more. Of course the team wants to be more.
The Desmond Bane difference
The statement the Orlando Magic made then was not just the return of their hard-nosed physical defense on a national stage in a big game. The Magic made their move to acquire Desmond Bane this offseason so they would not be wholly reliant on their defense.
They made that move for games like this. They wanted another scorer and attacker for big games with stakes in them. They needed someone who could get hot and spark a change within the team.
It has taken a while for him to unleash his powers fully, but now Bane is doing a whole lot more.
"He's more than just a shooter in my opinion, he is a real scorer," Paolo Banchero said after Tuesday's win. "He had six threes tonight. He had 37 against Detroit without shooting any threes. It's not just the shooting, it's the scoring in general. You give a player like that the ball. It's not really hard."
Bane finished with a season-high-tying 37 points, making six of nine from three. It was his play that sparked the Magic and changed the game, elevating the offense after a slow start and giving the team some much-needed distance.
Bane scored 10 of those points in the second quarter, attacking the basket and finishing at the rim to get the Magic some rhythm and get them going. He followed that up with another 10 in the third to go with a pair of threes and 15 in the fourth to put the game away, once again hitting two 3-pointers.
The barrage from the outside left the Heat dispirited. They could not slow him down. And for the first time, the Magic could feel the impact of his offense at every level. Confidence flowed as the magic made 15 of 32 from three as a team. Miami could not top that (shooting 8 for 33).
That has been missing from this team. That kept the Magic from being true contenders. It was what held the team back.
There was no offensive spark and no constant threat.
The NBA Cup and what it means is still getting defined in the early years of its existence. Who knows how seriously anyone takes this?
But in one evening, the Magic made a major case for themselves. They showed they have maintained the defense that made them one of the most frustrating teams to play in the league and they showed they now have an offensive spark that makes them dangerous there too.
"I like us just being able to stay the course no matter what is happening in the game," Mosley said after Tuesday's win. "The resiliency of this group is big. They never got themselves out of it in this high-stakes type game."
If that is something, the Magic have a lot to work with as they chase their trophy in the winter. . . and the spring.