The season is over for this young Orlando Magic squad. It had been a heck of a ride after struggling in the early parts of the season and getting into the groove after finding their identity. There were not a lot of expectations since this was their first time in the NBA Playoffs. However, it was not expected that they would push Donovan Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers team to seven games. The Cavs star even had a bold declaration when it came to up-and-coming superstar Paolo Banchero.
Magic star gets his flowers
The competitive spirit of both teams often get to them in the NBA Playoffs. It can get physical but there is nothing but love in between most of these athletes after the series is done. This is exactly what Donovan Mitchell exemplified after the Cavs had won over the Magic, via Lisa Salters of ABC.
“Paolo Banchero is going to be a monster,” was the bold declaration that the Cavs star made.
Donovan Mitchell could very well be correct. Paolo Banchero was phenomenal in his first NBA Playoffs series. He played an average of 36 minutes for the Magic and made every second count. His stroke from all three levels amounted to a 47.9% clip leading him to record 25.2 points per contest. It did not end with just scoring big numbers and picking apart the Cavs' defense too.
The Magic star was an all-around presence which helped his squad stay afloat. He grabbed 7.3 rebounds on a nightly basis despite huge guys like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen giving their best efforts to crash the glass too. Obviously, superstars get trapped and doubled. When that happened, Banchero managed to land the proper passes to their open man. This helped him get 4.3 assists which kept the offense going and prevented the Cavs from getting stops.
Cavs send the Magic home
All was right with the world during the early minutes of this NBA Playoffs clash. The Magic outscored the Cavs 24 to 18 in the first quarter. They then followed it up by scoring 29 more points while containing the Donovan Mitchell-led squad to just 25 entering the second half.
Unfortunately, the Magic just could not get the offense rolling at the start of the second half. They were limited to a horrid 15 points while the Cavs got away with 33. This squad did still make history but just landed on the wrong side of it. They were on the other of the biggest comebacks in NBA Playoffs Game 7 history. Their lead which amounted up to 18 points at one point became a 12-point deficit that they could not come back from.
Banchero did his best to keep his team alive in this NBA Playoffs series. He knocked down 10 out of his 28 field goals and went 15 for 18 at the charity stripe foe 38 points. His rebounding skills allowed him to be tied with Evan Mobley for the game-high record of 16 rebounds.
There is still a lot to patch up in the young star's style of play. However, it will not take long before he starts beating other teams en route to a Larry O'Brien trophy.
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