3 players who will determine Orlando Magic's postseason outcome
The Orlando Magic have burst onto the scene and reached the Playoffs this season. They face a tough Cleveland Cavaliers team in what everyone expects to be a competitive series. Orlando is going to need some key role players to step up.
When everyone thinks of the Orlando Magic's Playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they will inevitably go to the marquee matchups.
How will Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner perform in their first playoff series? What will Jalen Suggs be able to do to slow down Donovan Mitchell on the perimeter? Will Jonathan Isaac start at center and how will the Magic maximize his minutes?
There are major storylines to follow and major things the Magic's best players have to prove in the course of the next two weeks. The Playoffs reveal so much about the top players.
And all of these storylines and all of these roles will matter. The Magic cannot win the series if Banchero does not play like a star and lift his team up. The Magic cannot win the series if Suggs is not on the nose defensively. The Magic cannot win the series if they do not play well.
Orlando is going to have to count on big games from their three core players -- Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. That is the case for every playoff team.
But what could swing the series is the play of role players. It is going to take players who have been inconsistent throughout the year to step up and play their roles. For the Magic to win, they are going to need some players who have struggled at times to play at their best.
The Magic's Playoff hopes certainly start with Banchero, Wagner and Suggs. But their success in this series may turn on something else. It may turn on the production that comes from some unlikely sources.
Especially considering the matchups the Magic may face, winning in some unlikely places could be the difference between winning and losing in this series.
The Magic are going to be put under the microscope throughout the Playoffs. Whether they will find success or not will be determined by the play of these three players.