When the season tipped off, the Orlando Magic didn't expect to find themselves on the verge of missing the playoffs. The Indiana Pacers went from being in the NBA Finals to falling to the back of the pack due to Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear. Between Jayson Tatum suffering the same injury and the roster makeover the Boston Celtics underwent, the East was for the taking.
When the Magic traded four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap for Desmond Bane, they had visions of vaulting to the top of the conference and representing it in the Finals.
Yet here they are, trying to extend a tumultuous campaign. Orlando ended the year with a 45-37 record. The Magic ended the regular season on a low note, playing an uninspiring brand of basketball on the TD Garden parquet. Despite entering as 12.5-point favorites, they suffered a 113-108 loss to a Celtics team without eight players, including its starting lineup.
LUKA GARZA WITH THE CLUTCH THREE 👌 pic.twitter.com/Us1rzMqYso
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 13, 2026
The defeat dropped them a spot in the standings, meaning that instead of hosting the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday's play-in game will take place in the City of Brotherly Love.
"I don't know, this was a must-win game, at least I thought," said Paolo Banchero after Orlando's regular-season finale. "I just think we didn't come out with no urgency. It's frustrating, honestly."
It's also inexplicable. Yet it's par for the course in a season where Banchero and head coach Jamahl Mosley have publicly traded jabs as the Magic failed to live up to expectations.
Maybe Sunday's loss in Boston, coupled with the stakes of the play-in tournament, will galvanize Orlando. If harnessed correctly, this could be the force the team rallies around to perform at its potential at the ideal time of the year.
"Everyone knows what's at stake," Anthony Black said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, as the visitors prepare for Wednesday's tilt in Philadelphia. "We're just super excited to come out … to try and get a win."
The tale of the tape for the Orlando Magic
As far as point production goes, Orlando finished in the middle of the pack this season. The Magic averaged 115.7 points per game, which ranked 15th in the Association. That's two ticks below the 76ers. They did so despite ranking in the bottom seven in made 3s, converting on just 11.7 of their 34.1 attempts from beyond the arc. That's a conversion rate of 34.3 percent, which was in the bottom four of the league.
To overcome that, Orlando relies on points off turnovers. The Magic generated 18.5 per contest. That was the 12th-most in the NBA this season. It's also an essential factor in ranking 13th in points in the paint, producing 51.1 per game. These numbers highlight areas where they're effective, but they also reflect why Orlando's offense is pedestrian.
Even with Anthony Black having a career year, the Magic suffer due to not having someone they can trust to organize the offense at a higher, more consistent level. While their offense revolves around a quarter that includes Jalen Suggs, they were hoping that Banchero, Bane, and Franz Wagner, in particular, could provide that caliber of offensive orchestration.
A part of the problem was that Wagner only appeared in 34 tilts this season due to injury. Another was Banchero's poor three-point shooting and penchant for turnovers. While the latter averaged 5.2 assists, he also had 3.1 giveaways, resulting in a 1.68 assist-to-turnover ratio.
To his credit, when he's attacking downhill, his combination of size, strength, and explosiveness has translated to him placing in the top six in free-throw attempts, averaging 8.2 per game. He is also producing 10.4 points in the paint per contest.
Orlando needs a healthy and productive Wagner. A win in Philadelphia to set up a first-round rematch against Boston also requires Banchero operating aggressively, generating points at the basket and the free-throw line.
At the other end of the floor, what the Magic do best is protect the three-point line. They're tied with the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves, yielding 12.1 threes per game, the fewest in the league. Their opponents shot 35.3 percent from beyond the arc against them, the 11th-lowest mark in the NBA this season.
Orlando also ranks in the top eight in minimizing opponents' points off turnovers and is tied for the fewest second-chance points allowed. As Celtics fans remember from last year's playoffs, Jamahl Mosley's team -- even after some significant roster changes -- employs a physical brand of defense. Opponents average 25 free-throw attempts against Orlando. That's the sixth-most in the league.
Teams are scoring 115.1 points per game against the Magic, which ranks 13th in the Association.
Maybe their talk about rallying on Wednesday night in Philadelphia is just bluster. What awaits could be a disappointing encore to Sunday's debacle in Boston. Losing to the Sixers would be par for the course in an underwhelming season. However, as the numbers illustrate, Orlando's quartet has it within them to lead the Magic to a rematch against the Celtics. Soon enough, there will be an answer to whether what happened in the regular-season finale brought out the best in them or if this team is ready to enter the offseason, where questions about its core and its head coach await.
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