{"id":698399,"date":"2026-04-04T20:39:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T20:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698399\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T20:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T20:39:33","slug":"how-the-magic-save-the-season-before-it-all-falls-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698399\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Magic Save The Season Before It All Falls Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

With great expectations, comes great responsibility.<\/p>\n

Despite all-time great talent, Kanye West and Lauryn Hill have let fans down time and time again, for one reason or another. And yet, fans keep showing up to support, for one reason or another.<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s the power of music. Maybe that’s the power of stars.<\/p>\n

Something similar can be seen in basketball. Through the trials and tribulations of sports fandom, there’s few people that stay as true to the team and the city they love than basketball fans.<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s the power of sports.<\/p>\n

Staring down the barrel of 5 games left in a regular season dragging its way to the finish line, the Orlando Magic are facing a major crossroads.<\/p>\n

Something’s clearly off with this unit’s focus on a night-to-night basis, and the fans and national media are letting the team know it<\/a>. Seats are hot; players appear disgruntled; the noise is thickening.<\/p>\n

What can Orlando do to save this iteration of the team before it all falls down?<\/p>\n

Ye originally wanted Lauryn Hill on \u201cAll Falls Down\u201d in 2004 as it interpolates her song \u201cMystery of Iniquity,\u201d but he couldn\u2019t get the sample cleared at the time <\/p>\n

Two decades later he brings her out to perform it together for the first time in front of a sold-out crowd of\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/0oPbEemsNG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 yzyupdates (@yzyupdates) April 4, 2026<\/a>Franz Wagner is the elevator key that takes this team up a few levels\"Franz<\/p>\n

Apr 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Orlando Magic at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Orlando needs to show up and show out in every game left like their life depends on it, because in many ways, this version of it does. <\/p>\n

Sitting at 9th in the East, the Magic are technically just 2 games back of the 6-seed 76ers and 7-seed Raptors; so, technically, if things fall their way, they could still sneak up out of the play-in, but it will take a lot to go their way.<\/p>\n

Remaining schedule:<\/p>\n

Hawks: NYK, CLE, CLE, MIA
Raptors: BOS, MIA, MIA, NYK, BRK
Sixers: DET, SAS, HOU, IND, MIL
Hornets: MIN, BOS, DET, NYK
Magic: DET, MIN, CHI, BOS
Heat: WAS, TOR, TOR, WAS, ATL<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The five games left on the schedule before the postseason feature three legit playoff teams in Detroit, Minnesota, and Boston; unless they luck out with some resting before the playoffs, those won’t be easy outs. The other two matchups against New Orleans and Chicago should be much easier, but that doesn’t equate to a win for this team that tends to play up or down to its competition.<\/p>\n

The Magic play like someone asking their landlord to increase rent because they like the challenge; despite ranking well as a team in turnover percentage, it’s often the sloppy passes and erratic decision making by ball-handlers that put this team behind early, leading to breakaway dunks and quick runs for the opposition that trigger this team into freezing up and spiraling into even worse decisions.<\/p>\n

With outside noise adding pressure to see major changes this summer, the Magic decisionmakers have big choices to make about who to bring back in this organization going forward; but, there are no signs that the team is looking to make a change, if they don’t have to. If this organization can find any wiggle room to run this group back one more year, blaming the last two on injuries, they likely will.<\/p>\n

While this Magic team has disappointed overall, the team has still made general progress in recent seasons to get back to the playoffs, oversee individual player development, rebuild a winning culture, and reestablish those high expectations that come with it.<\/p>\n

And one thing is still very true \u2013 this team has not remotely scratched the surface on how good it can be, primarily because this team has not been remotely healthy together for any long stretch of time.<\/p>\n

Allow this group to get healthy, build some playoff experience, and look back on this past year as growing pains that saw good player development from the young prospects in Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva, Noah Penda, and Jase Richardson along with reps for a Paolo-Bane led offense that the team can potentially lean on in a playoff series down the road.<\/p>\n

The clearest path for this Magic team to run it back next season without an excuse?<\/p>\n

Look like a legit playoff team against the Pistons or Celtics in round one, push them to 7 games, or better yet, if one of their stars isn’t 100%, then go out and win a series now that your team is the one that’s finally (mostly) healthy, with their captain ‘Star Fox’ Franz Wagner back piloting the ship.<\/p>\n

Franz Wagner 8\/9 2P last night, you say?<\/p>\n

4 finger rolls
3 FLOATAS
2 barrel rolls
1 reverse<\/p>\n

Star Fox is so back pic.twitter.com\/t5O7TlDfZN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

A healthy Franz Wagner changes everything for this Magic squad.<\/p>\n

Their best defender by impact alongside Jalen Suggs, Wagner doesn’t get enough credit for not only being an All-Star individual scorer and consistent drive-and-kick shot creation force in pick-and-roll, but for being one of the best two-way wings in the entire league.<\/p>\n

Orlando adding such a strong two-way force to its starting lineup places everyone back closer to their ideal role. If Franz gets the tune-up he needs to be full-go by playoff time, this team could suddenly hang with anyone in the East.<\/p>\n

Having Jalen Suggs – Desmond Bane – Franz Wagner – Paolo Banchero – Wendell Carter Jr. – Tristan da Silva available means the Magic have 6 of their top-7. (get well soon, Anthony Black)<\/p>\n

This is as healthy as the Magic have been in a long time, with the full starting lineup that was a group of league-killers before the injuries, with most of their depth in-tact to fill out a rotation with Jevon Carter and Goga Bitadze.<\/p>\n

The worst-case scenario would be this team not finding any cohesion in this final stretch, bowing out of the play-in in one or two games with a loss, and feeding the flames around everyone’s seat.<\/p>\n

For this team to have any hope of running it back next year fully healthy, the Magic must find balance around a foundation of Franz’ downhill gravity and defensive impact, before it’s too late. <\/p>\n