A development that went largely under the radar this early in the NBA Playoffs was the Orlando Magic’s stunning 112-101 victory over the Eastern Conference’s top-seed, the Detroit Pistons. Left for dead after they had to play in the Play-In Tournament just to earn the final playoff ticket and battle the surprising Pistons, the Magic shocked the basketball world with their gritty and splendid Game 1 performance.
In fact, the showing was enough to convince Hall of Famer Paul Pierce that Orlando is capable of ousting the Pistons from the playoffs, saying the Magic just has more talent.
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High hopes
Pierce relayed that his belief in the Magic goes back to before the 2025-26 season tipped off. After seeing the Magic acquire knockdown shooter Desmond Bane in the offseason to help them space the floor, Pierce believed they were capable of snatching a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, that didn’t happen as severe injuries to two of their starters, do-it-all forward Franz Wagner and defensive demon Jalen Suggs, kept the Magic from realizing their potential.
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“Before the season, when we was sitting here preseason, I was like Orlando’s going to be a top four seed team in the East,” Pierce began. “Based on what I saw last year, they pushed the Boston Celtics. And I mean Boston handled them pretty, pretty good, but damn—they had like Paolo Banchero looked unstoppable in that series, averaging like 30.”
Although the Celtics ousted the Magic in five games in their first-round clash, Pierce was right to describe Banchero‘s play as impressive. The former Duke Blue Devil showcased the depth of his skills in that series, averaging 29.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
“And then I was like, man, they added Bane. So I was like, Orlando is going to be a threat in the East if they play to their potential and Banchero lives up to who I thought he was,” Pierce continued.
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An up-and-down season
As mentioned, the Magic didn’t get any traction in the regular season after Franz and Jalen played in only 34 and 57 games, respectively. Banchero also courted controversy by publicly bashing the team’s late-game shortcomings. His numbers also took a dip this season, as he averaged 22.2 points per game, a few points down from the 25.9 points he scored per game last season.
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However, the last few weeks have seen the former first pick step up, scoring 25 in their Play-In win over the Charlotte Hornets and tallying 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Game 1 against the Pistons.
“So far in the last two weeks, Banchero been playing like the player I thought he would play like all year long,” Pierce said.
With the team’s starting five scoring in double-figures in the series-opener, Pierce believes the Magic are finally on track for the first time all season long, leading him to believe they are capable of pulling off a monumental upset.
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“This version of Orlando, I’m on the bandwagon because I just feel like they’re more talented,” the Truth declared.
“I think they’re going to win this series.”
It was only one game in the series, but given the confidence the Magic played with and how disorganized the Pistons were, Pierce’s prediction definitely has some legs to it.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.