DETROIT -- The Orlando Magic understood that the first quarter would have a lot to say in their Game 1 matchup with the Detroit Pistons.
They needed a good start to continue resetting itself. More importantly, the team needed a statement.
The Magic did not blink. They raced out to an 18-5 lead and led by eight after the first quarter with a 35-point quarter. Orlando turned back the first challenge to its lead in that period and got J.B. Bickerstaff to burn his first timeout just 3.5 minutes into the game.
A game is not won in the first quarter. But a tone was set from the very beginning. Orlando challenged every shot, shot confidently and made the Pistons climb uphill the entire game.
With the Magic bracing for a more physical effort from the Pistons, they are preparing for a big rush at the beginning of the game. The Magic's chances in Game 2 might be determined right from the tip again.
"I think it's big," Desmond Bane said after shootaround on Wednesday. "Oz [assistant coach Dale Osbourne] always says you don't always win the game in the first quarter, but you set the tone. I think especially on the road it's important to do that.
"I think you've got to understand how desperate Detroit is going to come out and be, and how physical they are going to be. They want to protect their homecourt, of course. It's our job to come in and get the job done tonight."
Everyone understood this series would be determined based on physicality. And that comes down to rebounds, turnovers and paint points -- all things the Magic won in Game 1. Orlando showed it could control that against a bullish team like Detroit.
What the Magic have not proven is how they will respond when the Pistons assert themselves, especially if they hold the lead. There is still a lot on the line.
And that will fall to the first minutes in this game. The first quarter matters.
A strong start
The strong start on Sunday was more about confidence than anything else.
Orlando needed a shot in the arm and to see the momentum from Friday's elimination game win over the Charlotte Hornets. Orlando needed at least some early belief they could handle the Detroit Pistons with everything working against them.
But the Magic have also had one of the better starting lineups in the league.
Their current starting lineup has a +11.6 net rating (117.3 offensive rating/105.7 defensive rating) in 182 minutes across 19 games. In the first quarter, that group had a +18.9 net rating (130.1 offensive rating/111.3 defensive rating).
The problem with the Magic's starting lineup -- which ranked ninth in net rating among lineups that played at least 150 minutes (the Pistons' lineup with Daniss Jenkins in for Cade Cunningham was the top lineup at +28.8 points per 100 possessions in 184 minutes in 22 games) -- was that it did not play enough together.
Injuries have been the story all year and are part of the reason the Magic find themselves as the 8-seed.
This lineup is how the Magic get off to such good starts. Orlando is playing its best players together early.
"I think we've just got really good players in that lineup," Franz Wagner said after shootaround on Wednesday. "Whatever the circumstance might be, I think we have players willing to play with each other and are really talented."
Wagner's addition is a big part of things, if for nothing else than his threat and the matchup problems it brings, having a second 6-foot-10 forward. That is at the center of a lot of the questions the Pistons are asking themselves.
Since April 1, when Franz Wagner returned from his high ankle sprain, the group has had a +6.7 net rating (111.1 offensive rating/105.0 defensive rating) in 57 minutes across six games, with a few notable outliers.
In Sunday's game, the Magic's starting lineup outscored the Pistons 36-25. That equated to a 112.5 offensive rating and a 78.1 defensive rating. The group's defense stands out and helped set the tone.
The Detroit Pistons are obviously no pushovers. In the regular season, their starting lineup had a +11.4 net rating (121.4 offensive rating/109.9 defensive rating) in 536 minutes across 42 games.
That group will fight back. But it is on the Magic's starters to have an answer and keep them in the game. They will have their moments and getting blown out from the start puts the Magic in a massive bind.
The first is just a start
That saying is right though. A game cannot be won in the first quarter.
The Orlando Magic dominated the Detroit Pistons through the first half in their March meeting in Orlando, only for the Pistons to shut down the Magic's offense in the second half and send the team into turmoil. Every moment in the game will be important.
At the end, a playoff game is determined by who plays the most consistently throughout the 48 minutes. A good start merely helps.
"I think it is always good to start good into a game," Franz Wagner said after shootaround Wednesday. "Other than that, obviously, they made their runs in the game. I think that's what these games are going to come down to is just how consistent you can play for 48."
But there is something to playing with the lead. The Magic were able to ward off challenges to their lead, give up some runs, and recover and rebuild leads throughout the game.
With the way both of these teams are capable of playing defense, having that cushion could make the difference by the end of the game.
No one may be able to lay a knockout punch early. But it is a lot easier to have the high ground.
"Regardless of how it goes, it's a long game," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Wednesday. "But you definitely need to come out with the right mindset. We don't need coach calling an early timeout to get us together and get us communicating or locked in. As long as we are not making mental mistakes, I think we'll be fine."
The Magic are expecting the Pistons to respond with more physicality and desperation to avoid a 2-0 series lead. They should expect the Pistons to throw a big punch early to take control of the game.
As Wagner put it, the Magic should not try to match whatever the Pistons are doing, but just play their game. It is about reducing mistakes and absorbing those runs and still having the chance to make their own.
After the way Game 1 went, what kind of game Game 2 will be likely gets decided in the first few minutes.
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