Paolo Banchero putting on another playoff show that the defending champs can't stop

In Game 2, Paolo Banchero got the mismatch he was looking for going up against the smaller Jrue Holiday. Holiday is a tough player to move, even for a bigger player. He has gotten his licks on Banchero before exiting the series with a hamstring injury. It is one of the tougher challenges for any player.

But even Holiday cannot always stop a 6-foot-10, 250-pound behemoth. When Banchero finds that gear he can move quickly past guards and then power his way to and through the basket.

What Banchero is going to discover at some point in his career is that no one can stop him, he just has to pick whether finesse or power will give him the advantage.

On this play in Game 2, it was both. The quick move that got Holiday off balance, the bump that moved him back, followed by the explosive dribble and the massive leap that powered his way to the rim.

Banchero is making a statement this series.

The Orlando Magic do not have a lot of advantages in their series with the Boston Celtics. The whole series has felt like a long, uphill climb with the team being careful not to ignite the Celtics' supernova offense.

But one advantage that they have, the only advantage they may have is Banchero. And even with the Magic facing elimination, Banchero has made his presence felt, toppling records in the process.

Banchero has put on a true show that signals the 22-year-old is not merely destined for superstardom, he is already there.

"Trying to find ways to get the job done and help this team be in a position to win," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Paolo Banchero's 36-point, 11-rebound effort in Game 1. "Whether that is making a big play by scoring or a rebound or making the right decision to find guys. That's what he's going to continue to do. He's going to help this team try to find ways to win in that regard."

Elevating his game

The best players in the league elevate their games in the postseason. That is the hallmark of what they do. When defenses can load up and focus on the idiosyncrasies of each opponent, the best players find a way to break through.

Paolo Banchero has done that and more, especially considering some of the offensive shortcomings of this Magic team.

He has averaged 32.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per game. Banchero is shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from three. Those shooting numbers are weighed down by a 12-for-32 effort in Game 4. Banchero leads the playoffs with 12.0 field goals per game and 27.3 field goal attempts per game.

Lest anyone thinks the Magic are somehow worse with Banchero on the floor, a common criticism from the regular season, the Magic have a rotation-player-best 107.6 offensive rating with Banchero on the floor, 1.7 points per 100 possessions better than the team's average in the series. Orlando has a -6.0 net rating with Paolo Banchero on the floor, a number that trails only Jonathan Isaac in this series.

In the 25 minutes Banchero has been off the floor in this series, the Magic have a -26.7 net rating and an 83.7 offensive rating.

He has indeed carried a heavy burden for the Magic.

But that is no different than the regular season. And all of his counting stats are up from the regular season—25.9 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game with 45.2 percent shooting and 32.0 percent from three.

"It's just the playoffs," Banchero said after Game 1. "It's just a higher level of intensity, more stakes. I try to be aggressive."

It is not merely all of these counting stats.

Banchero has scored 25 or more points in seven straight playoff games, tying Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the longest streaks for players younger than 23. He has scored 25 or more not only in all four games of this series but in four more games from last year's series—making eight of 11 career playoff games.

With three 30-point games in this series, he joined Tracy McGrady as the only players with three or more 30-plus-point games in multiple series. He has scored 30 or more points in six of his 11 playoff games.

This season was confirmation of his playoff performance last year against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 27.0 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists per game, shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from three in that seven-game series.

The Celtics this year are as difficult a defensive challenge as the Cavs were last year. Banchero has proven himself now as a playoff performer.

Turning heads

Paolo Banchero told Marc Spears of Andscape in his season diary before the playoffs that, "the greater the challenge, the more I step up." This was always the challenge and the stage Banchero seeked. He lives for these pressure games.

And something about the playoffs and the pace and the intensity fits his eye.

The rest of the country is taking notice in a much higher profile series against the defending champions. Even with the Magic down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination, national meda are buzzing about what Banchero and the Magic could be.

"Listen, my favorite team has been going against him for four games. That dude has answered the call," The Ringer's Bill Simmons said on a live stream of The Bill Simmons Podcast after Game 4. "He is a full-fledged playoff guy and really gives a [expletive] and is playing his absolute [butt] off. I'm terrified of him."

Banchero has stood up to the Celtics' defense throughout this series. If the Magic felt winning the series was a long shot, then one of their goals had to be to get this assurance that Banchero is a playoff performer.

There should be no doubt now. The Magic have a superstar to build around.

Ready to win

If anything, this series has only highlighted how ready Paolo Banchero is to win and how urgent the Magic should be to surround him and Franz Wagner—averaging a not-too-shabby 26.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 6.0 assists per game, putting aside his own postseason questions—with the help they need to compete for championships.

These are all nice accolades to get. Banchero has earned them with his play throughout this series. But everyone is eager for more. The Orlando Magic certainly will not be thrilled with a first-round exit next year.

Banchero is putting up these numbers not only because he is that good, but also because it gives the team the best chance to win. That drive is why there is still so much belief in this team and its potential.

"It's who he is. He's a winner," Jamahl Mosley said after Game 2. "He's trying to find ways to do whatever he can. Not coming out of the game in that fourth quarter just because of how bad he wants to go take this game. He understood exactly what we were capable of doing. A lot of things have to fall in place in those situations. But this young man is doing whatever he can for this team to put us in a position to be successful and win games."

The Magic's ceiling seems limitless because of what Banchero can do. He keeps showing what he is capable of in these high-pressure situations and games. He keeps beating defenses loaded up to beat him. Even with a flawed roster.

The Magic may end up losing this series to the Celtics. The experienced champions are teaching the young Magic a lot of hard lessons. But Banchero is putting on a show and proving he is undeniable.