Two of the highest groups within the Eastern Conference standings will face off this week when the Boston Celtics host a pair of video games towards the … Orlando Magic?
No, that’s not a misprint.
After a 104-94 win over Cleveland on Monday evening, the Magic are tied for second place within the East with Milwaukee, only a sport behind the Celtics. Orlando introduced its presence with a nine-game successful streak that started in mid-November – a run that included wins over Denver and Boston – and now the Magic will tackle the Celtics once more Friday and Sunday.
“We don’t want to be the doormat anymore, and a team that people talk about as, ‘It’s just the Orlando Magic,’” guard Jalen Suggs mentioned. “We want to be that tough team, and you’ve got to scout and bring full mental energy and physicality when you come play us.”
Orlando hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020, and even that doesn’t completely inform the story of the franchise’s latest futility. The Magic haven’t gained a playoff collection since 2010, when Dwight Howard led them again to the convention finals a yr after Orlando reached the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise historical past.
Since Howard left in 2012, the Magic have managed just one successful season, after they went 42-40 in 2018-19.
There have been some constructive indicators a season in the past, after they went 34-48 for a 12-game enchancment. That nonetheless wasn’t sufficient for even a spot within the play-in spherical, however Orlando has taken one other massive step with a younger core of gamers that continues to develop collectively.
The workforce’s beginning lineup contains 4 gamers age 22 or youthful. All have been latest first-round draft picks.
Unlike profitable Magic groups prior to now, there’s no megastar like Howard or Shaquille O’Neal. But Orlando did have the No. 1 choose within the draft in 2022 and took Paolo Banchero of Duke, who gained Rookie of the Year honors. This season, the 6-foot-10 ahead is averaging 20.7 factors per sport, narrowly edging out Franz Wagner – the No. 8 choose within the 2021 draft – for the workforce lead.
Suggs was the No. 5 choose in 2021. Guard Anthony Black, the No. 6 choose this yr, has made 17 begins as a rookie.
This assortment of youth has, thus far, shaped one of many league’s high defensive groups in 2023-24.
“We have fun playing defense,” Suggs mentioned. “Everyone does it and everyone’s buying into it.”
Third-year coach Jamahl Mosley’s workforce is third within the league in defensive score. The Magic‘s big winning streak began when they held Chicago under 100 points in back-to-back games. That’s a feat they repeated of their most up-to-date two video games, after they beat Detroit 123-91 after which held Cleveland to 94 factors.
The Cavaliers led at halftime earlier than being held to fifteen factors within the third quarter.
Orlando‘s winning streak equaled the longest in franchise history and helped Mosley win Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors. The Magic have taken advantage of games against the league’s weakest groups. The final three wins of their streak have been towards Charlotte and Washington. But earlier than that, Orlando beat defending champion Denver 124-119, then topped Boston 113-96.
The victory over the Celtics gave the Magic a 3-1 report within the NBA In-Season Tournament, however that wasn’t sufficient to advance from the group stage. Boston in the end beat out Orlando with a superior level differential.
Also included on the Magic‘s resume are wins over the Lakers, Bucks and Pacers. Now Orlando faces the Celtics again, on a two-game trip to Boston that seemed at the beginning of the season like a couple of routine wins for the home team but now is shaping up as a bit of a litmus test for one of the NBA’s most shocking groups.
The plan for the Magic is identical because it’s been all through the season to this point.
“I think you continue to preach exactly what you know travels, which is defense,” Mosley mentioned. “That’s who we are, and that’s what we’ll continue to be about.”
