virtually locked into their roster at the moment<\/a> thanks to the max contracts handed to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in the past two summers and $30-plus million salaries to Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane.<\/p>\nIt has given the Magic one of the best starting lineups in the league. But the team’s downfall came as injuries piled up — particularly to those key players — and the bench could not keep up.<\/p>\n
Orlando had one of the lowest-scoring benches in the league this season, revealing a dearth of offensive options that only got worse because of the major injuries the team faced in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n
In the Playoffs, the Orlando Magic had 19.7 points per game off the bench, the second-fewest in the leaue ahead of only the Houston Rockets. That followed a regular season where the team averaged only 32.6 points per game off the bench, 26th in the league.<\/p>\n
Orlando had its first trio of 20-point-per-game scorers in franchise history, but finding support for them became a huge issue. And that was most evident in the Playoffs when the team was already playing with Franz Wagner, dealing with an injury, and Anthony Black recovering from a long absence.<\/p>\n
The Magic were solid when they had all their players available, as Jeff Weltman likes to remind everyone. <\/p>\n
Orlando’s starting group had a +11.6 net rating in 182 minutes together. Even with Tristan da Silva or Anthony Black in the starting lineup for Franz Wagner, the Magic’s starters won their minutes handily (+10.8 points per 100 possessions with da Silva and +6.9 with Black).<\/p>\n
But the Magic were getting very little off their bench. The team had to expend most of its offense and ability in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n
That made it tough to spread things out and give the team the support it needed. When one of the key scorers went out, the team struggled to make things work together.<\/p>\n
That is what the Playoffs are about.<\/p>\n
Benches are stepping up in the Playoffs<\/p>\n
The one thing the three remaining teams have in the Playoffs are players who have stepped up off the bench and different ways to score from unexpected places.<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma City Thunder took Game 3 on the road from the San Antonio Spurs because of Jared McCain’s shooting burst. The New York Knicks have gotten huge games from Landry Shamet in their four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The San Antonio Spurs have a standout rookie in Dylan Harper coming off their bench.<\/p>\n
In the Playoffs, the Thunder lead the league with 42.2 points per game off the bench. The Spurs (32.0 points per game) and Knicks (31.3 points per game) are both in the top half of the league in bench scoring.<\/p>\n
It is not so much the consistency of scoring off the bench as it is the ability to get players to fill in gaps as necessary.<\/p>\n
Orlando would have won its series if Jalen Suggs had not shot 7 for 28 (25.0 percent) and 3 for 15 (20.0 percent) from three in the last three games. <\/p>\n
They needed a bigger effort from someone like Tristan da Silva — 4.1 points per game and 31.3 percent shooting from deep — to help supplement their stars and make the Detroit Pistons pay for leaving them open.<\/p>\n
The Magic needed more players to step up and fill in.<\/p>\n
This is why more investments in the bench are necessary. This is what the best teams are doing.<\/p>\n
And this is why the starter-heavy roster construtions feel so perilous.<\/p>\n
Teams still need stars to win. To be sure, the Magic’s success still depends on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner’s development. They need to hit their peaks and be All-NBA-level players.<\/p>\n
The differences between the top teams often comes down to bench support. And the Magic are hunting for it again.<\/p>\n
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