The Orlando Magic find themselves in control of their bright future as they enter the season's final stretch. But there are still plenty of questions around this team on the court for the fourth quarter of the season that will be exciting to watch for the answers to.
Orlando was able to enjoy some new highs during the third quarter of the season, including a highly anticipated game on TNT on the national stage against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Some of the Magic's young talent were able to showcase their ability to the NBA world in that game, even without earning the victory.
Magic fans finally were able to get the satisfaction of their team being a part of the national conversation.
Stan Van Gundy making a case on the TNT broadcast for Jonathan Isaac possibly being the best defender in the NBA, or Shaquille O'Neal raving about the "Wagner bros." was pure gold for Central Florida.
The Magic also got to enjoy watching their budding young superstar, Paolo Banchero, on the national stage in Indianapolis for the All-Star Game. The Magic should be a more consistent and bigger presence at the showcase game in the very near future.
As a team, the Magic capitalized on some recent struggles by competition ahead of them in the standings with an 8-2 record in the last 10 games. They feasted on a soft spot in the schedule too. They are currently 36-26 their best record at this juncture of the season in over a decade
This record has the Magic sitting in the 4-seed in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Every game in teh final quarter of the season is going to be meaningful the rest of the way.
These are five questions to answer during the last quarter of the regular season.
5 questions for the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season
Will Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner finish as Orlando's first 20-points-per-game scoring duo since Shaq and Penny?
While the focus should be on the team down the stretch not on the individual, it would be egregious to ignore the fact that Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have a chance at a historic accomplishment if they finish the season as strong as they have started it.
As it stands at the start of the fourth quarter Paolo Banchero is averaging 22.9 points per game and Franz Wagner is averaging 20.5 points per game. Those are both stellar and career seasons for the Orlando Magic's two young, budding stars.
It also puts them at the doorstep of a bit of history.
The last duo to average 20-plus points per game for the Orlando Magic were Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway in the 1996 season.
Let me repeat: THE LAST DUO TO AVERAGE 20-PLUS POINTS PER GAME FOR THE ORLANDO MAGIC WERE SHAQUILLE O'NEAL AND ANFERNEE HARDWAY.
There have been a few close calls -- Hedo Turkoglu had 19.5 points per game in 2008 -- but that is a long time without a star duo like the one the Magic have today.
The craziest part of all of this is that both Banchero and Wagner are extremely good defensive players and rebounders in addition to their contributions on offense.
Between Banchero becoming a freight train when he puts his head down and goes to the rim, and Wanger weaving his way through the lane and finishing at an almost unstoppable clip the Magic have a very bright future.
Although only Banchero made the All-Star team this year, most NBA junkies agree he has a running mate in Wagner who will be joining Banchero in future NBA All-Star Sunday games. And while Wagner has not had the strongest season with his efficiency, he is still putting up big scoring numbers and capable of taking over games.
The Magic have a great one-two punch.
Banchero and Wagner have gotten more and more comfortable with their roles on this team. They are building chemistry together that has already yielded better-than-expected results for the season.
They are both eager to grow this team together.
"This is only the second year, and I think we've built great chemistry," Paolo Banchero told former Magic forward Dennis Scott on an episode of Shooter's Paradise for NBATV. "We're going to keep building as the years go by. Shoot, by year 5, year 6 it's going to be scary."
Banchero and Wagner have played their way into direct sight of a historic achievement that would undoubtedly be another sign of how good this duo is and can be.
5 questions for the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season
Is Cole Anthony out of his third quarter slump?
Cole Anthony is an explosive guard with the ability to score at all three levels on offense and crash the glass on both ends.
He struggled most of the third quarter of the season, averaging just 9.4 points in February in addition to an uncharacteristic 72 percent at the free throw line.
In January, Anthony really struggled, shooting 37.5 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged only 8.8 points per game.
For the third quarter of the season, Anthony averaged 8.3 points per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. He has never been the most efficient player, but he was always a reliable shooter and scorer. That is the part that the Magic were missing much of the last 20-plus games.
On defense, he was consistently being put on an island and his effort was not enough to shut down scorers.
In the last three games in February, Anthony appeared to have started to bounce back a bit, increasing his scoring output to an efficient 12.0 points per game in that stretch. He made just 30.8 percent of his threes in those games. He still has to work his way out of the slump.
But there is good news. After the All-Star Break, Anthony looked refreshed, averaging 11.1 points per game and shooting 43.7 percent from the floor. He is still hitting only 30.8 percent of his threes. But he was able to start hitting shots more consistently.
That was a good sign as the Magic need the lift off the bench. Anthony is going to have to give the team a little bit more for this playoff push.
Anthony's cold streak has been extended throughout some of January and February. But Anthony has started to play better recently and it would be surprising for him not to have a strong fourth quarter given his work ethic, athletic ability and basketball IQ.
5 questions for the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season
Will Orlando Finish with the best bench in the Eastern Conference?
The Orlando Magic have had one of the best bench units in the NBA all season long and there have been multiple games in which Orlando's starting unit did not start strong and the bench unit has been able to make up ground or expand a lead.
Orlando has one of the best bench groups in the league. And it is essential to the team's success in their playoff push.
Jonathan Isaac has been healthy for most of this season and has been one of the most impactful defenders in the NBA even in limited minutes. Make no mistake, Isaac's impact on this team cannot be overstated.
Cole Anthony has had somewhat of an up-and-down season. But he has been playing very well recently and can score at all three levels -- something that spaces the entire floor for this Magic team.
Another exciting thing to watch is the duo of Moe Wagner and Joe Ingles - when they have their "Moe-Joe" going the Magic are tough to beat.
Orlando's bench unit scores 41.8 points per game on the season, ranking 2nd in the Eastern Conference only behind the Indiana Pacers and fourth in the league overall. In the third quarter of the season, that dropped to 40.0 points per game.
The Magic have been the best defensive rebounding bench in the Eastern Conference for the season averaging 12.6 defensive rebounds and 17.4 rebounds overall per game.
Not surprisingly Orlando's second unit ranks highly in both blocks and steals -- leading the Eastern Conference in blocks and only trailing the Pacers in steals.
Ultimately the best bench unit in the Eastern Conference is a toss up between Orlando and Indiana, although it is worth pointing out that Indiana no longer has Buddy Hield coming off the bench, and his departure has been impactful.
We will see if Orlando's second unit can separate themselves as the top bench unit in the East over the fourth quarter of the season.
5 questions for the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season
What are the keys to Orlando avoiding the play in tournament and making the playoffs?
The combination of a surging Orlando Magic squad going 8-2 in their last 10 games and 14-7 overall in the third quarter of the season, and some struggles by teams ahead of them in the standings at this point has resulted in a logjam between the fourth and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference.
A logjam Orlando finds themselves smack in the middle of.
Orlando exited Tuesday and the third quarter of the season holding sole possession of fourth in the Eastern Conference. But the team is tied with the New York Knicks in fifth, only a half game ahead of the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers in sixth and seventh and 1.5 games ahead of the Indiana Pacers in eighth.
Every day is going to see a complete jumble of the standings. The Magic can only focus on themselves and what they can control.
That should highlight three games on the schedule.
March 8, March 10 and April 12 are the most important days remaining on Orlando's schedule and a full game will be available in the standings on each of these three days.
On March 8, the Magic find themselves matched up with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The March 10 matchup at Kia Center against the Pacers is a must-win. And April 12 is another road game with massive implications against the 76ers.
Orlando currently owns the tie breakers against the Knicks and Pacers. But Philadelphia has already won the season series against the Magic. As have the Heat. A division title is the first tiebreaker for any three-way tie, giving the Magic a huge advantage so long as they stay ahead of the Heat.
Ultimately, the main way the Magic will give themselves the best chance of avoiding the play in tournament and earning a top 6 seed is by playing their brand of basketball
What does that mean exactly?
Orlando's brand of basketball includes winning the battle in the paint on both ends of the floor, it includes winning the turnover battle, it includes crashing the glass, limiting second-chance points and, most importantly, it is focused on all-out effort on defense.
Defense travels, and Orlando has ranked top five in defensive rating all year. They posted a 111.4 defensive rating in the last 21 games. They have a 104.5 defensive rating in the seven games since the All-Star Break.
The Magic have been stellar defensively and have seen multiple players truly buy into the defense-first culture Orlando is buildling. It starts with Jalen Suggs who has blossomed into one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
Another important factor of the Magic making the playoffs directly is winning games they should win against subpar competition. Playing up or down to competition is not an option.
Orlando has the fourth-easiest schedule remaining in the NBA by opponent win percentage including an eight-game homestand on the horizon. There are still chances to bank up wins.
The Magic playing Orlando Magic basketball has put them in a great position for the playoff race. Orlando continuing to play that brand of basketball to finish the regular season will very likely determine their playoff position.
5 questions for the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's 2024 season
Can the Orlando Magic execute the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA?
In the season's fourth quarter, Orlando can climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
Orlando's schedule in the fourth quarter lightens up drastically and includes bunches of games the team should win.
Ten of Orlando's remaining 20 games are against teams under .500 and 12 of their final 20 games are at home where the Magic have been very good this year with a 21-8 home record. The Magic have been good against sub-.500 teams too, going 21-6 in those games. Orlando can still clean up a lot and pick up wins to solidify their spot.
At the end of the day there are no "easy" games in the NBA. But there are games you should win. The Magic take care of these games more often than not. There is a lot of trust in what this team can do.
Orlando cannot take its eyes off the playoff prize in games vs what would be considered sub par teams. Doing so will likely result in at least one loss in a game Orlando should have won - a loss that could prove to be the determining factor in Orlando's playoff vs play-in fate.