Shhhh!
Don’t you dare repeat what you are about to hear.
And whatever you do, please do not — under any circumstances — let the Orlando Magic in on our little secret.
As the Magic head into the playoffs this weekend, we don’t want them to get complacent.
We don’t want them to be satisfied.
We don’t want them to think their hopes and dreams and goals have already been accomplished.
So, please, keep this under wraps because we don’t want them to know what I’m about to tell you.
We don’t want the Orlando Magic to believe the actual, factual truth; that their season has already been a resounding success no matter what they do in the playoffs.
Shhhh!
I’m telling you this in confidence: There is absolutely nothing the Magic can do now to put a damper on a season in which they outperformed all expectations and solidified in our minds that they are a team on a rise with championship potential for years to come.
And that’s not just me, the hometown columnist, talking.
It’s what the national boys are saying, too.
Just listen to Zach Harper of The Athletic.
“What would make this season a success? It already is,” Harper wrote a few days ago. “I think the Magic could get hammered in the first round, but we’d still have to consider this a wildly successful season for them. They showed the last two-thirds of last season weren’t a fluke. This team is a fantastic defensive unit despite its youth. And Paolo Banchero is already an All-Star with superstar potential. The Magic know they need to add veteran perimeter help, but this team is on its way. I think Orlando will have a good showing in the playoffs, even if it’s a first-round exit. All possible stock for the future of this franchise should be unavailable.”
Shush, Josh!
I told you to keep it down.
We don’t want the Magic to hear any of these kudos before they face the Cavaliers on Saturday in Game 1 of the playoffs.
We want them hungry.
We want them on edge.
We want them greedy.
We need to prod them and provoke them into wanting to achieve more than just making the playoffs.
We need to remind them that they came thisclose to blowing it and only avoided the Play-In tournament by beating a Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks in the final game of the regular season.
We want them feeling disrespected by the Cavaliers, who seemingly tanked their final regular-season game Sunday against the lowly Charlotte Hornets just so they could face the Magic in the first round of the playoffs instead of the winner of the Play-In game between two more proven teams — the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.
We absolutely, positively don’t want the Magic to be full of themselves and feeling good about what they’ve accomplished.
We want them to think they still have something to prove even though they’ve already proven that this season is only the beginning of something bigger down the road. They have proven that they are not only good; they are good and young.
The Magic entered this season with the fifth-youngest roster in the league (average age: 24.8 years old) and yet they were still able to win nearly 50 games. In fact, in the last quarter-century since 1999, there is only one NBA team that has recorded 45 wins or more with their top three scorers (Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs) 22 years old or younger. That one team is the Orlando Magic.
Banchero, the NBA Rookie of Year last season and an All-Star this season, is one of the most versatile players in the league. When the regular season ended on Sunday, Banchero was 21 years, 154 days old, which made him the youngest player in NBA history to ever lead his team in the top three statistical categories — scoring, rebounding and assists.
“When your top three scorers are 22 and under, I think about our 10- and 11-year-old fans and I want them to still be fans when they’re 21-years-old,” says Jeff Weltman, Magic president of basketball operations and man in charge of putting this roster together. “We’re not going to burn through the candle right now. We’re going to slowly simmer it and continue to invest in the players that we have on our roster and grow and develop them. We’ll always be opportunistic. We’ll always be seeking the next move to improve the team. And if we can take a leap, we will. But I have no problem doubling down on these guys right now.”
In other words, Weltman is confident about what he and his staff have built and where this team is headed — as he should be.
But …
I urge you to keep all of this between you, me and the fence post.
This is not the time or place for Magic players and coaches to feel good about what they have accomplished and how bright their future is.
It’s a time for them to go into the postseason on a mission.
It’s time for them to think they are being undervalued and overlooked.
So keep it on the down low and hush up about how much the Magic have already proven themselves.
Pipe down about how this season has already been a spectacular success.
This is not the place nor the time.
It’s playoff time, baby.
A time where reputations are built and legacies are formed.
Time for the Orlando Magic to stay hungry and humble.
Email me at [email protected]. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen
Sarah Wilson is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
