WARNING: Orlando Magic DELIVER Statement Win—Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane POWER Playoff Surge

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This is a warning to the Eastern Conference.

Their Lindo Magic you feared are finally here today on Lockdown Magic.

You are in Lockdown Magic, your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast

Network, your team every day.

And you are indeed locked on magic today is March 12, 2026.

My name is Philip Ross, I'm the senior writer over at OrlandoMagicDaily.com, credentialed

member of the Orlando Magic Media since the 2012 season coming to you today from the Kia

Center.

Today's episode of Lockdown Magic, the Orlando Magic that we were talking about back in

August.

They're finally here, how the Orlando Magic sent a warning to the Eastern Conference

with their 128-122 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and now the magic finally discovered

how to have fun again.

We're going to get to that and a whole lot more coming up here in just a moment.

First, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day.

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I think fair to say that to this point this season has been frustrating, has been disappointing

perhaps.

You know, it just came out of Lockroom, we talked with Palo Bancairo in the Lockroom.

He said like, yeah, the season was a little frustrating and disappointing at times, but

this group didn't give up on who they knew they could be.

I know I said this a million times during the worst days and the worst games that you

could clearly see the talent that this team has and it was just about putting all those

pieces together.

It was so clearly just about can they be consistent at the good things and stop doing

the silly and the bad things that led them to have the record that they had.

All while continuing to say of course that the Magic didn't really have as bad of a record

and work playing nearly as poorly as we thought they were, their bad was just really bad,

but for the most part their mediocre was just mediocre.

Now that's not what we signed up for, that's not what the team signed up for, that's

not what the team believed and believed about themselves.

And so disappointment and frustration were absolutely the right emotions to have over

the way the Magic played over the first 45, 50 games of the season.

Here we are.

We are in almost mid-March.

We are in the final quarter of the season, 18 games to play now.

And when you look at the standing to see the Magic are five games back, not five games

back there, three games back at the Cavs for fourth, home court advantage at mythical

thing.

They are sitting in fifth and considering all the injuries they've had and all the

frustrations that they've had and the way they couldn't get over that hump, it sure

feels like they have.

A five game win streak is no small thing.

First five game win streak of the season, but it's the way the Magic are doing it.

It's the way the Magic have built this team and built this win streak and built this

getting out of the trouble that they were in.

It's the way they're finding ways to win and doing it consistently and how, at long

last, beating some very good teams.

The Magic's 128-122 win over the Cavs still required them to make big shots.

Desmond Baines crazy falling away shot that made it a five-point game with what, 12-second

play.

After the Cavs found this, the only way to describe it, it's a Cavalange, as the Cavs

like to call it, this avalanche of threes to get themselves back in the game and the

Magic starting to feel that tightness because they were making some mistakes and missing

some shots at key moments and again, just sometimes teams make shots and if we saw that in

Brooklyn, we saw, you know, we've seen that around.

But this is the point of it all.

We have always described this Magic team as a resilient team.

We've always said that this Magic team, when they're at their best, they don't let one

thing affect the other.

They don't let a bad shot or a bad play or a miss shot affect their defense and let their

bad defense affect their execution on offense.

They grind it out and find a way they get the stops when they need to get the stops.

They get the shots when they need to get the shots.

They have trust and faith in each other to get the job done and if there's one thing

that never waver and got the magic to this point, it is that trust.

It is that resilience.

And yes, it's 60 plus games into the season.

We're finally seeing the fruits of all that labor.

We're finally seeing the Magic be the team we imagine they could be, a team that is

quick and decisive, attacking downhill, using matchup advantages, trusting each other and

making shots when they're there because they have better shooters than they seem.

And I know Magic shot 34% for three today, not a great percentage, but the Magic made

the big ones.

The Jalen Suggs Street in the corner, the pair of Tristan Silva III in the fourth quarter,

the Desmond Baines, the Mayor Miracle Shot, that's not a Miracle Shot because it's Desmond

Baines.

It makes everything.

The Magic are starting to put all those pieces together because their defense while not

great tonight still made so many big stops.

They still made so many plays, created so many opportunities while I know never quite

pulled all the way away.

They led by 12, I think, with four and a half minutes left.

That was a, it looked like they were about to coast to a victory where Cleveland started

hitting crazy threes to get back in the game.

The Magic are starting to win and starting to play their way.

And frankly, Desmond Baines said it best after the game.

This is just fun.

Like, Shaman Mosley talks a lot about this.

He talks a lot about how the team needs to play with joy and that enjoying the game is

part of this team's identity, part of who they are.

And that stuff that we were experiencing in December and January, that was not fun.

It wasn't.

You could tell.

You could see it on the face of the team.

It was not fun.

It was just a struggle.

It was just hard.

And the Magic were again, so talented they could find a way.

But now here's the warning against the 4C Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that's been

in this.

How does any team in the East, you know, Miami Atlanta excluded at this point, Charlotte

excluded at this point, Orlando excluded at this point.

They've been as good as any other team over the last 15 games.

Here are the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The team with Don of Admitral and James are in the unstoppable guard duo.

And the Magic slow them down a little bit.

They don't stop them.

You can't stop them.

But here they are, beating another quality opponent on a national stage, on national TV.

And not just beating them, but controlling them, controlling the tempo of the game throughout

most of the game, doing what they have to do to win, zooming ahead, and yeah, maybe holding

on, but making the plays they need to win.

When we conceptualize this team at the beginning of the season, what we saw tonight is pretty

close to what we thought we would see all season.

And sure, it might be too late now to make a push for the 4C.

There might be too late now to get to 50 wins.

It might be too late to fulfill all those expectations.

But here's the warning.

Here's the warning to the Cavs, to the NICs, to the Celtics, to the pistons, the teams

at the very top.

The Magic are exactly who you thought they were going to be.

The Magic are very capable, very capable of being a really tough team to deal with.

They are very capable of being that team that we all imagine they could be in the offseason.

And slowly but surely that team is coming out more and more.

Because look at the standings.

But the proof like again, like you are what your record says, you are look at the standings.

After this five game win streak, the Magic are fifth.

I've said this the last two days, the Magic control their own destiny for the fifth seed.

Now they actually hold it.

Because Toronto lost half game ahead of Toronto.

Still technically tied with Miami, like we'll see them on Saturday, but the Magic have

put themselves in a position you probably did not think they would be in a month ago,

two months ago.

And while it is a small thing, I'm not going to say you're pretend like this is the goal,

mission accomplished everybody.

The Magic are still very capable of making some noise.

Because right now, all the pieces that did not look like they fit together a month ago,

they all look like they fit together.

They all look like they're working in tandem.

This looks like a team.

A team that is having fun, a team that knows who they are, that knows their roles, that

knows what to do, trust each other and is getting the job done more and more.

A big piece of, I'm the Magic have been so successful.

Starts with Palo Bancaro doing exactly what I've been telling him to do all season long.

We'll talk about how Palo's defense is setting the tone for the Magic coming up here.

In just a moment.

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I reckon if you've been thinking of taking your LockedOn fandom to the next level and

joining our every day or club, now is the time.

Again with the every day or club, you get the ad free audio feed of this show plus access

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If you've been listening to Shalier, thank you for doing so.

If you've been angry at me during the show all year, I hope one of the reasons that

you're angry about my criticism of Palo Van Carroll, you recognize that it was constructive

criticism.

I'm not, I don't think I'm crazy.

Maybe I am crazy.

Maybe I've been gasoline some things.

My biggest criticism of Palo throughout the course of the year has simply been about

details.

It has been about doing the little things because generally like, yeah, the jumper hasn't

been there for most of the season.

There are a lot of things that I was like, he's not going to be able to fix them until

the off season and I'm cool with that.

I believe he'll fix it.

I'm not worried about him on those stuff.

But to me, what bothered me about the way Palo was playing earlier in the year was more

about the little things.

Whether you want to be or not, you are a leader on this team.

The team is going to follow the energy you bring to the gate.

If you're slow, if you're not into it defensively, if you're making mistakes, if you're, if

your effort just isn't there, that's a problem.

Those are intangible problems and that's a problem.

I think I've said this a million times.

I don't care if Palo misses a million shots as long as he's aggressive.

I care more about doing the little things that help this team win because this team is

only going to go as far as he takes them.

That's the way the NBA works.

You go as far as your stars take you with Franz Wagner out, Palo is still doing a lot

of that look.

Thankfully, Desmond Bain has stepped up and taken some of it.

We'll talk a little bit more about him at the end of the show.

It's certainly worth talking about him.

It's bad that I haven't talked enough about him this deep into the show.

But one of the big things that I asked of him is because I don't expect Palo to be an

all defensive level defender.

And one of the big things that I always asked of him is set the tone on defense.

Again, there may be things you're upset with, there are things to deal with in the offseason.

Not denying that, still not denying that.

But set the tone on defense because if you bring energy defensively, everyone else on

the team will follow and that's still the ticket for the match to be successful is to

be great on defense.

Magic give the number one, at least, at night.

The magic have the number one defense in the league since the all star break.

He had a bad defensive night tonight, they gave 128 points for one of his sessions.

But they still got the stops, they forced some great turnovers, they played some tough

defense tonight.

Like, honestly, I'm not upset with the way the magic played defensively.

And once again, that energy that started with Palo Bancaro guarding the toughest player

on the team.

That started with Palo Bancaro teaking on the challenge.

And while we are very enamored, as we should be, very enamored by the way that by the way

that he is scoring, the efficiency that he's scoring with, the way he stepped his game

up on the offense of it.

Any time you ask, Jamal Mosley, or ask any player on this team, what stood out of

Palo Bancaro, they will immediately say it's his defense.

When Del Carter said it this morning, before she rounds you, I'll Mosley said it during

the road trip, repeated it again today.

And I hope everyone's noticed what's happening because Palo was taken on the responsibility of

the main assignment on the other team's best perimeter player.

Now the magic switch a lot, they run, they run, they run 15, they switch everything.

Their goal and one of the reasons why their defense has been so successful is they're

switching everything to keep players out of the paint.

We'll talk about the rebounding a little bit, but look, the magic have dropped from I think

like fifth in the league and defense of rebound right down to like 10th or 11th.

They have sacrificed rebounds to keep teams out of the paint.

And we can debate whether that's the right gamble or the right bargain to make.

I'd say there's also been pretty successful.

You know, like whatever little mistakes might be made by giving up offense rebounds for

the most part, the magic haven't been burned by it yet.

But this all starts with Palo van Carroll guarding James Hart.

It all starts with their best player setting the tone on that end.

And look, James Hart had a great game, 30 points, 11 for 16 shooting, five for nine from

three, six rebounds, eight assists, four turners.

That's not all on Palo.

And like we talked to Palo off the game and he said like, yeah, I did not defend very

well today.

But you go back and look at some of these other games against Luke Adonchich against Kevin

Durant.

Like he had a hand against, I don't think he started on anything he had words on Saturday.

But he had a hand in slowing some of those players down.

I know Durant had a big game.

I know Don't you saw the big game?

You're not stopping these players.

You're just trying to slow them down.

You're trying to make them work.

And I genuinely believe Ban Carroll made them work.

You look at the numbers.

According to NBA.com stats, and they get these defensive stats are very, very hard.

According to these stats, Ban Carroll is giving up 47.9% shooting for the season on players

that he's defended.

And it's 0.7% worse than expected.

They're expected to shoot 47.4%, they shoot 47.4%, they're essentially a break even

to defend.

But since the all star break.

Since the all star break, as I stalled my stats page load here.

Since the all star break, it's broken even.

In nine games, since the all star breaks, I don't think it's including the last two games.

Opponents are shooting 47.6% against Palo, and 47.6% is the expected to break even.

These stats are imperfect.

I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

And I don't think I can look up the synergy stats quite yet.

But these stats are imperfect.

You know, let me let me look up the synergy stats.

It's worth looking up the synergy stats.

That's that's probably where I should have gone to be in with.

So I apologize for not being prepared.

It's not perfect.

I want to be clear on that.

But he's doing better.

He's taking more responsibility.

You look at.

So you look at his synergy stats.

Opponents score 0.974 points per possession against him when he's guarding the ball,

hand run, pick a roll.

It's below average 0.954 in isolation.

That that's average.

Pick a roll, roll man 1.265 below average.

But about the only thing he does well is post ups and handoffs.

But if you look at the last 10 games, I don't know if this will include tonight quite yet.

So bear with me.

You look at the last 10 games 0.857 points per possession against the ball, hand learn

pick and roll.

One point per possession in isolation.

1.118 against the roll man and picking rules.

It's small things.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend he's some dominant defender.

And again, I don't expect him ever to be a dominant defender.

But these small things add up.

These small things get bigger.

These small things become a huge factor from the magic.

It's not even just that he's the magic or better defensively because he's out there

or anything like that.

It's the tone that it sets that your best player is taking on the best player on the other

team.

Like he's not going to trade out tomorrow on Thursday.

Like he gets a night off.

Like he might guard to Sean George, if he's playing, I don't know if he's Sean George

is playing yet.

We'll see.

But the fact that Palo is willing to take these responsibilities on, that's what's helped

him lock it on the discord server, you know, our friend Matt Moore from Locked On Nuggets

and Locked On NBA asked me like, besides, Chuck goes in, which is a big factor.

What's different with Palo?

And you know, I said like, oh, they're getting them on the move a little bit.

They put them in the post a little bit more like they're getting them the ball in better

spots for him.

But honestly, like, it's both connected and not connected.

And the fact that Palo is defending and more attentive on defense, that to me is raised

his level of play, just as much as is raised, everyone else's level of play.

And so if everything starts for this team on defense, the fact that Palo is guarding the

Lucas, the James Hardens, the Kevin DeRance on the other team.

And yeah, they're switching a lot.

So he's guarding Evan Mowgli too.

He's guarding Alpern Schengen too.

The fact that he's willing to take on that responsibility, that sets the tone for the

whole team.

And I don't think it's a coincidence that he has taken this on since he all started breaking.

And the magic have become this juggernaut all of a sudden.

Because Palo is setting the tone defensively for this group.

And that is exactly what you want from your best player and your team leader.

All I've asked for all year, I am loving the way Palo plays.

And we'll talk a little bit more about this game coming up here in a minute.

I love I am loving the way the Palo plays.

I like people who think I'm hating on Palo, I'm not because I saw this potential in

him.

And I knew it would benefit the magic if he played this way.

Here we are.

Five game win streak, five seed, what, it's 10 of the last 14 games now, I think.

Something like that.

The magic star is their star at long last.

Let's break down the box score because there's a lot in this game that needs to be talked

about.

A lot of players stepping up and some questions so the answer will get to that coming up

here in just a moment.

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As we do after every game, let's run through the final lock scores, you're under

magic.

I don't think I've really talked about this game specifically, like we talked about

like what this game means, we talked about like one of the big factors and why the magic

turned things around, let's talk about this game.

This felt like a heavyweight fight, like it felt like a playoff game.

It felt like, like the intensity was there, you know, maybe the crowd probably wasn't

playoff crowd, it was a good crowd, it wasn't like a playoff crowd.

It felt like the intensity was there, it felt like both teams understood like, K, we're

going to see this team maybe a little bit further down the road.

It's a big deal.

This is a big game and there's a lot on the line here, you know, I think Cleveland's

certainly trying to get themselves back on track after Boston or Lando trying to prove

that they are the team that everybody thought they were and I think that's a big statement

that they made today in a national televised game or Lando really controlled this game

throughout much of the contest.

They took the lead in the second quarter.

They never really gave it up after that.

There's only how many of these changes, there's 10 ties, 12 lead changes.

So it went back and forth for a long time, but Orlando had the lead and it just never

felt like Orlando could get much distance and Cleveland had this nice scoring binge at

the end of the second quarter to tie the game at the half and it was like, oh, here we

go again, third quarter, but Orlando won the third quarter by seven.

They were really excellent in that quarter.

When Palo was out, the magic were really good when Palo was out, the bench came in, stuck

to it defensively.

Like honestly, I thought the bench was better defensively than they were on offense.

There's still problems, but they really held on the lead, gave the magic starters the

chance to get a breather, Desmond Bayne carried so much of this team.

This was a game where like your stars have to step up and that's what you're expecting

in the playoffs.

You're going to need a big game from Desmond Bayne, you're going to need a big game for

Palo.

When the magic gets to the playoffs, they're going to need a big game from two of Palo

Frans and Des at all times if they're going to win and they're going to need the third

guy to play pretty well too, especially if they are able to get deeper into the playoffs.

Desmond Bayne just had another fantastic game.

We expect this from him in big moments and the test will be next Tuesday against Oklahoma

City because he struggles against Oklahoma City so much, but 35 points, 12 for 19 shooting,

2 for 3 from 3, 9 for 10 from the foul line, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, no turnovers.

Awesome game.

Got where he wanted, took what the defense gave him, didn't force anything, didn't force

any threes, got to the basket, able to draw fouls, just really, really attack Cleveland's

closeout so effectively and got the ball moving again like so much of what the problem with

the offense is is that people don't move, players don't move, the ball doesn't move.

And so when the magic are able to get downhill, get teams in rotation and get the ball moving,

especially because Des is just so crafty finishing around the basket.

When that happens, this offense looks really good again, 130 something, 133 offensive rating

I think today, no complaints about the offense, like the ball was moving, it moved about

as well as it's moved all year.

And frankly, just like what I could play about this offense is one action doesn't flow

into the next, like they just don't go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

It's boom, boom, wait, reset, boom, boom, out of time on the shot clock.

And there's some possessions like that don't get me wrong, there's always going to be some

possessions like that.

But generally like the offense flowed and moved from one thing to the next, even when Cleveland

slapped a 3-2 zone on them, Orlando just picked it apart.

They got to the, they got to the middle of the paint, collapsed his own, kicked out, drove

back in, kicked back out, like they were just picking what they wanted to do.

And Cleveland, you know, again, just aside from some turnovers, maybe a bad shot decision

here or there, Cleveland really couldn't stop them and again, like Des just got to a spots

and did what he wanted, a really fantastic and composed game from Desmond Vain.

Same thing for Paolo, like Paolo with 25 points, 8 for 18 shooting, 2 for 6 from 3, 7 for

9 from the foul line, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, had two turnovers as well.

First half Paolo was awesome, just like quick decisions, they had smaller players on them.

Magic put them in the post, got him in got him in motion, got him in picking roles, really

stressed those small players, whether it was Dean Wade, whether it was like Keon Ellis,

whoever they tried to put on him.

Paolo was just feasting on them and it got to a point where it's just like if they don't

put Evan Moby on Paolo, he's just going to eat them alive because he was focused on

getting the paint.

Now, I think second half he started taking some workshops, magic struggled to get to the

ball, they doubled him a little bit harder, they came with doubles from areas that he wasn't

expecting and Paolo read that a little bit poorer, so got a lot of assists in that second

half.

So, Paolo really, the one area that Paolo has really evolved this year is he's beginning

to understand what the game means and when to go for his and when to go for others and

be a decoy and be just a suction cup of energy and like look, if you get him going downhill

with a smaller player on him, he's going to attack it.

Maybe he wasn't attacking it as aggressively and as physically as he was, physically early

in the year.

He's attacking it like super physically, super aggressively and it's been, it's been

awesome to watch this evolve and turn into what it has.

I know Paolo ends up shooting 8 for 18, he missed some shots late, struggled a little bit

in the fourth quarter, but generally just another fantastic game from Paolo, he is, he looks

like the superstar of the magic need and the superstar that we expected to be in the season.

Another game for Tristan Isolva just continues to be on a heater, 23 points, 8 for 13 shooting,

only 3 for 8 from 3, 4 for 5 from the foul line.

I would say this, like look, Tristan Isolva made a couple of big 3s in the fourth quarter,

his shooting is super valuable, but what's really evolved with Tristan is like, look, the

shoulder issue doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.

Teams are starting to close out on them card around 3s and he has this like two dribble

floater and this two dribble pull up, that's really effective and he has a good sense of

when to go to it and when not to and when to take the three, he's, he's got a decent set

back for you, like he's got some tricks in his bag and he just has a good sense of when

to do all of it and like his emergence and the way that he's played over the lot, since

he also break really, that's a big reason why the magic have been where they are.

Just having that role player that just knows his role plays it really well, doesn't go

outside his box, but can do a little bit more than he then like what a defense can think.

Like Tristan Isolva, Tristan Isolva is the kind of player that's going to win the magic

playoff game.

Like Brother Franz is playing or not, Tristan Isolva is going to have a game like this,

against a Cleveland Cavalier, see maybe it's fatty hat against Cleveland now because

they'll be ready for it in April, but Tristan Isolva is going to have a game exactly like

this that wins the magic playoff game, like mark that down right now, that's how important

and how good he can be.

And so another really nice game for Tristan, it's become, you know, I'm not expecting

to score 20 a night, but the contributions he's making are becoming very habitual.

Wendell Carter, 11 points, 11 rebounds, 4 for 7, 1 for 3 for 3, 2 for 6 from the foul line.

Mostly good game, you know, again, like magic struggle a little bit with offensive rebounds

again, 12 offensive rebounds, a lot of that is they push Wendell on the perimeter, like

he got a lot of time on James Harden in the first half because the magic are switching

one through five right now.

Like that's been their strategy, it's been pretty effective.

I'm still skeptical, it'll be very effective in the playoff.

So, you know, I think there's some tweaks that need to be made, especially with some

of the back end rotation, especially with some of the bench players.

But Del continues to step up on the magic need him to.

And just generally I thought this was a solid game, was it outstanding?

Did he make mistakes?

Sure.

But again, overall, just he makes so much of this defense work.

And I don't think it goes appreciated by as many people as it should and it's just not

something you can quantify in the stats.

He's got to make shots.

He's got to finish around the basket a little bit more effectively, like it was not a great

offensive game for him, especially with the misstreet throws, but still doing a lot

more good than dad.

And again, just such a linchpin to what the magic tried to do defensively right now.

He's been super valuable.

Jalen Suggs, 12 points, 4 for 9 shooting, one for five from three solvers, most of his

misses were three, two rebounds, four assists.

I love it when he, he had three steals.

I love it when he attacks.

I really love it when he attacks off the dribble.

He's got that nice little floater, he's got a good mid-range jumper, like I almost want

to see him take fewer threes just because he's not making them as effectively.

And look for ways to attack the basket and be aggressive off the dribble because that's

going to open up the three-point shooting game for him.

Suggs is doing better, I wouldn't say he's like perfect or amazing quite yet, but he's

been very good and and again, just offensively really worked hard on Donovan Mitchell.

Like, you know, again, Dom, Dom is Dom, like he's going to get his.

I thought the magic, I thought the magic made both hard and Mitchell work for a lot of

their points.

Here's their numbers.

Harden at 30 points, 11 for 60, should be five for nine.

That doesn't sound like they made him work.

I thought they made him work.

Donovan Mitchell at 25 points, nine for 24 shooting, four for 13 for three, five rebounds,

five assists, three turnovers, harden it, four turnovers with six rebounds and eight assists.

I thought they made them work.

Now, they're going to get theirs, they're really, really good.

They're really hard to defend.

They put you in a lot of stressful situations.

And I think generally the magic corralled them and kept them where they wanted it.

If they made shots, they made shots.

Like, Harden made some tough shots tonight.

But I think such is a lot of credit for helping on Mitchell, especially, and making things

hard.

And again, just being the energy for this team and not letting frustration win that off

the bench.

Get Howard continues to play a lot better than I think people are giving credit for eight

points three for five shooting, two for three from three, made a shot tonight, four rebounds,

had four fouls.

He could still be a little late rotation, but had a really nice block.

He is, he is fighting on defense.

Like again, I think teams are going to attack him in the playoffs, and that's going to be

a huge test for him.

But I, Jett, he is having a really strong run since the break.

Like he has played really well.

He's gained some trust and gained some gain, like he's the first guy off the bench right

now.

Like he's gained some trust.

And like that goes a long way.

And I think he's earned that trust.

I think he's earned these opportunities.

I think he's earned this play.

He's playing the best basketball of his career.

And I know that may not be saying very much, but Jett, Jett played really well.

And it was a big contributor in this game.

Like really had some good minutes.

Jivon Carter at 9.3 for 7 shooting.

You're like very typical Jivon Carter stuff from him.

A rough game for Mo Vonger, 1.0 for 3 shooting, 5 rebounds.

I want to talk about him in tandem with Noapenda.

Noapenda, 4.2 for 4 shooting, 0 for 2 from 3.

They put Noapenda on Donovan Mitchell a lot.

They trusted him to defend a lot.

And look, I think Penda mostly held his own.

Donovan Mitchell taught him some lessons, including the one you probably seen online.

But I really didn't like the pairing of Mo and Penda today.

They struggled to rebound.

A lot of the rebounds came with them on the floor.

You know, like, Penda's going to be good.

And I like that they're trying him against Don,

but he just still makes a lot of rookie mistakes.

Some fouling, some offensive stuff.

This game kind of screamed for Jonathan Isaac to be in there.

And he was available tonight.

He did not play, but he was available.

It did kind of scream for Jonathan Isaac to be in there.

And like, look, I like Mo a lot.

If Isaac's not out there, I don't know if you can play Mo.

And it's just like, I'm thinking ahead to the playoffs.

Like, Mo is going to give you some offense and be a spark on offense.

But when he doesn't, like his defense can be a little rough.

And some of that still he's recovering from the injury.

Some of that is he's just never been a great defender.

And so like, I've said this a bunch.

I do think there needs to be a drop dead date where if like,

you are comfortable with Mo as a playoff contributor,

you got to get go get out there.

You got to get go get in some rhythm.

You got to see what go go looks like with this group.

And what line up sort of with go go just because like,

he's going to give you the defense that you need.

I don't think we're there yet.

And you know, again, you're allowed to have bad games.

And so I want to give both grace and say like, look,

he's done a lot of good.

Like, it's been more good than bad with both.

So I'm not going crazy over it.

But this was a game that I was just like that rotation

just isn't working.

That lineup just isn't working.

Held their own in the fourth quarter though.

I got I'm going to give that credit.

Fourth quarter, I was a little worried with Palo out of the game,

being carried a lot of the offense.

Those two did some work defensively.

They were they were solid.

Magic were able to expand their lead, got their starters back in

and were able to hang on for the win.

So some good, some bad and plenty to build up.

Orlando shoots 51.8% from four.

They're 34.3% from three, 12 for 35.

28 for 37 for the foul line.

Getting the foul line, getting the paint, getting the basket.

They win the paint 56.50 as always when the paint won the game.

The magic with that, they get the foul line.

They were the more aggressive team.

The only at six turnovers, Cleveland only at 10.

So turnovers were a bit of an issue.

But the magic are able to get the job done

and are able to get this huge win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Josh Robbins, the bird over my shoulder,

is probably my sign that I need to wrap this up.

Hey, Josh, how's it going?

Good to see you, Josh.

I'm trying to.

I'm trying to.

If you're on audio, you're probably very confused.

But the magic to feed the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120 to 122,

they are now in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

And we will see what happens next,

because the magic are back in action.

You're at the Kia Center on Thursday

against the Washington winters.

But that's going to do it for me today.

I want to thank you again for listening to today's episode

of Lockdown Magic.

You could of course find me on Twitter,

at Philip R.O.D.

and on Blue Sky, at Philip R.R.

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That's gonna do it for me today, though.

I wanna thank you all again for listening

to today's episode of Lockdown Magic.

Like I said, we'll be back here tomorrow

to recap the Magic Skate against the Washington Wizards.

But until then, for Orlando MagicDaily,

Lockdown Magic, this has been Phil Brost,

and I'll see y'all again next time for another episode

of Lockdown Magic.

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