It has been one year since the Orlando Magic traveled to Boston to take on the Boston Celtics in a weekend series with the defending Eastern Conference champions. So much has happened since then but one thing rings true from nearly 365 days ago: Paolo Banchero and company can compete with anybody.
A lot of the confidence that has fueled the hot start to this year started that weekend in Boston. It started with that weekend sweep with Boston that capped off a six-game win streak that helped turn the Magic's 2022 season.
This is no rebuilding squad anymore. In 2022, the Magic rolled into the TD Garden double at a paltry 9-20, recovering from a 5-20 start but starting to gain momentum. That group would finish the year 29-28 after that rough start and with 34 wins overall. Orlando stayed on the outskirts of the postseason chase, but the young team never went away.
The team left Boston truly believing they can compete against anybody.
This year? The Magic are 16-7, good enough for third in the Eastern Conference with wins over the last two NBA Champions -- the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets.
Oh, and they are already 1-0 over Boston this season with that In-Season Tournament Victory on Black Friday.
As the Magic head back to Boston for another doubleheader set with the East-leading Celtics, they are not a team going there to build confidence. They are going there to prove they belong at the top of the East.
It is important to look back at how the Magic found themselves on the parquet floor in Boston last year:
December 16, 2022
The Orlando Magic walked off of the TD Garden's famous parquet with grins reaching their ears with their fifth straight win. This young, rebuilding squad blitzed the league-leading Boston Celtics, notching their 10th win of the season in style 117-109.
It had taken 30 games, but the vibes permeating through the Magic organization were finally starting to pay off.
After a 9-20 start that left both local and national media alike to start to look toward the 2023 Draft already, the young squad led by rookie Paolo Banchero and the sibling duo of Moe and Franz Wagner were starting to show flashes.
Moe Wagner scored 25 and Banchero scored 20 to deliver a knockout blow to the defending Eastern Conference Champs. Orlando outrebounded the lengthy Boston wings 53-38 and ran right through the chest of the most talented roster of the NBA -- four players on the Celtics roster had been named to All-Star teams in their careers.
The Magic did not have the better roster on paper, but they showed that they're better than their record states.
“One of the (Magic) coaches came up to me before the game and said, ‘We’re on the road against the best team in the NBA. Either we can prove that we’re a good team and really rolling or blame that we’re on the road and just roll over.’ We didn’t want to do that,” Banchero said after the win.
They did not. There is a newfound confidence in 2023 that this team picked up last year in Boston. This back-to-back showed they can compete with the best. They may not have all of the right pieces in place, but being confident and simply playing their brand of basketball was achievable.
December 18, 2022
Grant Williams' game-tying three-pointer missed badly, and the Boston Celtics could do nothing but throw their hands up and shake their heads while the faithful crowd groaned and filed out in dejection.
The lowly Orlando Magic -- again -- had taken down the NBA's best to sweep the two-game set at TD Garden and clinch their sixth straight win.
Paolo Banchero could not be stopped, scoring 31 (two points from his young career-high) while adding six three-pointers over the hands of Jaylen Brown. The team-first defense forced 16 turnovers, including five from Brown, who also struggled from the field.
The fourth-youngest roster in the league took down a roster full of achievements that those in Orlando are trying to reach themselves. It's a weekend headlined by the message that they played their way and it paid off. There's no superstar this team needs to trade for. They simply need to keep buiilding on the brand of basketball that they used in Boston.
"It means a lot to come out in this environment and get two straight wins against that team, a great team,” Banchero said. “I think it means a lot for our confidence going forward. We know we can compete against anybody. We just have to keep the same level of focus.”
Orlando may not have reached these heights again the rest of the season in terms of a winning streak. But the Magic had found their confidence. They had found their purpose and their play. That carried out throughout the season -- and even into another victory over the Celtics later in the season at the Amway Center.
This team was not a fluke anymore.
Fast forward to this year. The Orlando Magic have become the odd team at the top of the Eastern Conference. The team that nobody knows if it has staying power or even proof of concept that they can compete with the best in the league.
The Orlando Magic have already picked up wins over the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers all at home. Those are already some clear contenders and Eastern Conference favorites. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers too.
The only quality road win was against the also up-and-coming Indiana Pacers. There is still a lot to prove for this Magic team.
But the Magic figured out their brand of basketball.
They are not going to throw up three-pointers to try to out-shoot the Celtics. They attack the rim, punish double teams on kick-out threes and get to the free-throw line.
It is a Magic team that has elevated their team-first, rim-running approach more than anyone expected.
2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
Off. Rating | 26th (111.4) | 16th (114.0) |
Def. Rating | 15th (114.0) | 3rd (108.9) |
Team APG | 12th (7.6) | T-5 (8.6) |
Team FTA | 8th (25.0) | 2nd (27.7) |
It was evident in their 2022 back-to-back in Boston. So much of this was built off that hallmark weekend.
Boston was so focused on stopping Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner that Moe Wagner was left open inside of 10 feet all night as a result of the defense collapsing. He scored 27 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
Two days later, the Celtics plugged their gaps defensively but still fell to Orlando's ability to find from behind the arc and the right outside shot. Banchero went 6-for-7 (four of which coming off kick-outs from the lane), the most threes made in his young career.
While Orlando has improved across the board, Boston has done the same. Three key rotational players have gone, including 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart.
Brad Stevens, however, has plugged two key holes not just with rotational players but All-Stars.
Guard Jrue Holiday is stepping into the Marcus Smart role. A top defensive guard himself, Holiday adds the offensive firepower this Celtics roster has needed in time with the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown combo goes cold.
If that is not enough, 7-foot-3 star Kristpas Porzingis joins the fold coming off of his best statistical season with the Washington Wizards last year.
This is a loaded Celtics top six but the Magic have cracked this formula already, not just earlier this year, but in last year's back-to-back sweep, as well.
The success in 2022 was a jumping-off point for Orlando's success. They play physically. They attack the chest of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with their size. They collapse the defense and pass in quality shots.
Rebuilding squads take a while to find an identity. Just at this year's tranking trio of the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons.
But Orlando re-routed the ship after last year's weekend in Boston. They went from a true rebuilding squad to a young core who knew the brand of basketball they wanted to play to be successful. They showed it could be.
Following those two wins, Orlando finished the year 23-28 -- much closer to a team that knew they could compete in the postseason than the first month and change of the 2022 season.
This season has been a success a year in the making from their success in Boston. They can compete with anyone.
Now sitting two games below the Celtics for first in the East, the Magic can make another statement if they play as they did last December: It was not a fluke. We are here to stay.