On the final day of the season last year, the Orlando Magic felt all the pressure. They had squandered three chances to clinch their playoff spot and everything came down to the final day.
Orlando needed a win to clinch a playoff spot. A loss would send the Magic tumbling to the Play-In Tournament, out of the Southeast Division lead and to Miami for the Play-In Tournament.
There is no such drama this year.
The Magic wrapped up the Southeast Division and the seven seed with three games remaining. There is no mystery where the Magic will play or even who they will play. There is no sitting around and waiting.
"It's great to be at home," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's win over the Boston Celtics. "I think, you know, in different ways we can say it, but we wanted to take care of home. We did it the right way. These last two games were very important to us. So I think it's great for our group to be able to do that in front of our home fans. I think that's very big time."
The Magic are eager to have a home game of this magnitude. Another piece of the puzzle was filled Friday, the penultimate day of the regular season.
With the Atlanta Hawks' victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, they officially clinched the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference, setting up a showdown between the Magic and the Hawks for Tuesday at the Kia Center.
The Magic should be favored to win once again, especially after their win last week against the Hawks. Orlando also officially climbed to at least .500 for the season after defeating the Indiana Pacers. The Magic hold a lot of the cards entering this matchup.
But as the 7-seed, the Magic cannot be so confident they will roll over any team. After all, they are not playing a series. Anything can happen in one game. The Magic will have to play well on Tuesday without any safety net.
Still, the Magic should be thrilled to face the Hawks. This was probably the best outcome for them among the Play-In teams.
While the Magic celebrated a win Friday, preparations will begin quickly for Tuesday.
"You start preparing by watching past games," coach Jamahl Mosley said afer Friday's win over the Indiana Pacers. "What we've done, what they've done. The adjustments that need to be made. What we did well, what we need to improve on. All those things you are looking at right now. Just getting ahead of that not only for this game coming up on Sunday but also the play-in. The beauty of it and the blessing of it is we get to be at home in front of our fans."
The Magic have advantages over the Hawks
With Atlanta there are no players with size who could give Paolo Banchero issue. There is no team with deep playoff experience. Or even a team that is playing with tons of momentum entering the postseason—the Hawks have lost six of their last 10 entering the regular season finale on Sunday.
Yes, the Hawks have a dominant guard in Trae Young, someone who can bend defenses with his presence, shooting ability and passing. But the Magic have handled Young fairly well. More than that, Atlanta's defensive struggles fall int Orlando's hands.
Quite simply, the Hawks' weaknesses all feed the Magic's strengths.
It feels counterintuitive to think the Magic would favor a matchup with the Hawks because their three games have all been fairly close.
But the Hawks do not have the players and personnel to deal with the Magic's two best players.
Paolo Banchero is averaging 33.3 points per game and shoots 46.5 percent from the floor in three appearances against the Hawks. He also adds 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Franz Wagner averages 28.0 points per game and shoots 47.8 percent from the floor.
Getting others to score has been the problem. But with the way the Magic's offense is going, they are finding scoring. Especially since the Hawks have had one of the worst defenses in the league during the last 15 games—giving up 117.2 points per 100 possessions (the Magic have the best defense in the league during the last 15 games).
Orlando made quick work against Atlanta in Tuesday's win. And that was even with giving up more than 30 second-chance points and missing 10 free throws. Orlando left a lot of points on the board.
There is a lot to learn fro those games. But the Magic enter the game with confidence.
"It just gives you a chance to get an in-depth look at them," Anthony Black said after Friday's win. "Watch our three games from the season that we played against them. It gives you a chance to get ahead of your scouting and your personnel. It's a familiar team for us. It gives us time to look into it."
The only thing the Hawks have working for them is that they have the player who has the most gravity in Young. Young forces defenses to twist and contort. He has broken through for moments against Orlando's defense.
But even there, he has struggled against Orlando, averaging 28.3 points and 8.0 assists per game but shooting 8 for 30 (26.7 percent) from three. The Magic know how to frustrate Young and put him in uncomfortable spots with their size and defense.
Even in a do-or-die scenario, the Magic have playoff experience on their side too. They are not completely foreign to these big games.
At this point, the Magic are the much hotter team. Orlando has won nine of its past 11 games to reach 41-40 entering the regular season finale on Sunday in Atlanta—neither team should be expected to play its starters.
Orlando has known for a while that it needed to focus on itself and its execution more than anything else. The team has put itself in a strong position to advance as the 7-seed with a win on Tuesday. The Magic should have felt confident against any of the potential Play-In teams.
But among those teams, the Magic have some clear advantages over the Hawks. Orlando should be very happy to welcome Atlanta in the Play-In Tournament.