This was the best game of the year.
Down three starters, the Orlando Magic beat a Los Angeles Lakers team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis 119-118. Paolo Banchero is still out with a torn oblique suffered in a loss to Chicago, Wendell Carter Jr. is nearing his return to the court after suffering an ankle injury, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was out due to personal reasons. This win wasn't a part of the team’s most recent winning streak, but it is evidence that the Magic are headed in the right direction, as they won the game without the majority of their starters.
Keep in mind that this is a Lakers team that has made it clear from the jump that they are chasing an NBA title this season. They are led by two of the best players in the NBA and a rookie head coach in JJ Redick, who might be a candidate for the Coach of the Year award by the end of the season. This was also a Lakers team featuring rookie sharp-shooter Dalton Knecht, who torched the Utah Jazz for 37 points. The Magic held him to 17 points last night.
LeBron James finished the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, and Anthony Davis finished with 39 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. It didn't matter because the last time the Magic played the Lakers in Crypto, Jalen Suggs left the court in tears because that's how close the team was to doing what they did last night. To make a long story short, the Magic got their revenge from last year, and it had to feel even better to win without most of the regular starters.
The team should be extremely happy with its performance, although the national media has decided to not make a big deal of what they are witnessing.
Even on Get Up this morning, the production crew chose to focus more on LeBron James' dunk on Jonathan Issac rather than one of the most clutch three-point shots of this early NBA season. And by far the biggest game-winning three-point shot of Franz Wagner's young career.
The Magic built an important foundation
That recognition continues to come with hard work. The Magic started to get national recognition when they were on their six-game winning streak, and Franz Wagner was named Eastern Conference Player of The Week. Over that span, the Magic were opening the eyes of doubters who thought they could only win consecutive games with Banchero leading the charge.
The Magic find themselves working toward a goal that no one seems to think they can achieve besides the players and coaches in the locker room. And proving that the organization can win through adversity is a stunning new development for this young squad moving forward.
The Magic can now move forward with full confidence in both of their stars, because they have proven to be legit, no matter how small the Orlando market is. The proof is in the pudding, only legit teams can beat championship-caliber teams without multiple starters. This new development differs from years in the past when the Magic needed every starter to pull out victories against championship-caliber NBA teams.
It also means that the Magic may be able to rest certain players and still win games down the stretch when every team is fighting for playoff positioning. This new development opens up opportunities to manage star players because there may be a time when head coach Jamahl Mosley wants to rest Banchero in back-to-back games near the end of the year. He now knows he has a guy he can use as a number-one option.
Placing them in major starting roles also gives the players on the bench, like Goga Bitadze, Tristan da Silva, and Gary Harris, confidence. For instance, the minutes that da Silva is getting right now will be priceless once Banchero returns because coach Mosley has built his confidence up by playing him starter minutes.
So, this six-game winning streak was not an anomaly, but a step toward the trajectory of a limitless Magic team, a scary team creeping up to the top of the Eastern Conference without being at full strength. Next up is a Detroit Pistons team that the Magic will be favored to win against.