Brian Scalabrine said perhaps the quiet part out loud during Peacock's pregame show Monday night before the Orlando Magic took on the Chicago Bulls.
The Magic might be the best team in the Eastern Conference right now.
They defeated the Detroit Pistons on the road in Friday's NBA Cup group play finale. They have defeated the New York Knicks twice already. They have systematically avenged three early-season losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. The Atlanta Hawks are the only team they have yet to payback from that 1-4 start.
If the rest of the world is catching up to the Magic after all the ink was spilled, they might look up surprised to see what the Magic have accomplished in the first quarter of the season.
Orlando is 13-8 and has climbed to fifth in the Eastern Conference. They have won nine of their last 11 games.
The Magic rank ninth overall in defensive rating, giving up 112.4 points per 100 possessions and ninth in offensive rating at 117.3 points per 100 possessions.
If that offensive number holds up, it will be the first time the Magic rank outside the bottom 10 in offensive rating (let alone in the top 10) since Dwight Howard's final season in 2012.
In the past 11 games, the Magic rank fifth with a 110.7 defensive rating and fifth with a 120.3 offensive rating. The poor start to the season with that 1-4 start is still weighing the Magic's full-season stats down.
But that is the bigger point then. Statistically, at least, the Magic are much better than their record as they pass the first quarter of the season. They actually are among the elite teams in the league.
A true contender?
The true title contenders are teams that have a top-10 offense and defense. The offense has obviously been elusive for this Orlando Magic team for more than a decade.
But this Magic team is looking like a true contender.
But right now, there are only four teams in the league that meet that criteria -- the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves.
That is right, the Magic are the only East team ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating (the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons are just on the outside).
The Magic may not be there in the standings, but they are playing like one of the elite teams in the conference. They might be the best team in the East right now.
Even before Friday's game, it was clear the Magic are getting underrated a bit. They are coming on strong and have a record worse than their numbers would suggest.
Their +4.9 net rating is seventh in the league (and fourth in the Eastern Conference). The team's +5.2 points per game point differential would put them on pace for That is the statistical profile of a team that should be 15-6 right now.
That is boosted by some outlier games -- a 41-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers, a 31-point win over the Washington Wizards and a 28-point win over the LA Clippers. The sample sizes are still small.
But the Magic are playing and acting like a team that should be on track for 59 wins. A 50-win season is not crazy if the team can maintain this pace.
Plenty to clean up
This is not to say the Orlando Magic should rest on their laurels. They have not accomplished anything yet and seasons can fall apart quickly. The Magic have started to gain steam and put themselves in a good position to keep picking up wins.
There is plenty to clean up defensively. Opponents are 22nd, giving up 51.9 points in the paint per game. But like so many other things, that has improved to 18th at 50.7 per game in the last 11 games.
Orlando's real strength is how the team prevents 3-pointers. Teams shoot a league-low 32.2 3-point attempts per game this season against the Magic. Teams are shooting 36.8 percent from three, 23rd in the league. The Magic are suffering from some bad 3-point luck.
In the last 11 games, then, the Magic are giving up just 33.0 3-point attempts per game but opponents shoot 36.6 percent from thre, 16th in the league during the last 11 games.
Orlando has also been hurt by some bad luck. NBA.com's John Schuhmann wrote Friday that the Magic ranked fourth in opponent shot quality but were 16th in opponent field goal percentage. Teams are making shots against the Magic, but they are theoretically defending better than their numbers suggest.
There are still plenty of areas for the Magic to improve. The team is still establishing its physicality on defense. And while the team's transition attack has greatly improved, the Magic are still fighting for some consistency in the half-court on offense.
Opportunity ahead
But it all goes back to that one statement: The Orlando Magic might be playing the best of any team in the East right now.
They are taking care of the worst teams, going 6-1 against teams with records below .500 and 7-7 against teams with .500 or better records. The Magic have not been above .500 against teams with winning records since going 28-16 in 2010. They were 12-25 last year.
It is still early. But the Magic have survived a tricky part of their schedule. They have played 14 games against teams with winning records. Only the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings have played more.
According to ESPN's RPI ratings, the Magic have played the fourth-most difficult schedule in the league.
It is still too early to draw too many conclusions. But it is yet another hint the Magic have wins ahead -- peep that schedule from Christmas until the Europe trip.
The schedule always balances out. But it is encouraging to see the team playing this well through what appears to be a tricky part in the schedule -- the Magic's next five opponents will be against teams that reached the NBA Cup knockout rounds, including the NBA Cup quarterfinal and potential semifinal.
There is a lot of reason for optimism in the Magic Kingdom right now.
It is not crazy to say the Magic are the best team in the East. And it is not crazy to think the Magic are far better than their record right now.