It’s his time.
Paolo Banchero arrived and is one of the best players in the Eastern Conference this season.
Standing at 6-foot-10 and weighing 250 pounds, Banchero can take and make any shot on the floor. Her skills are amazing at her age because he can drive, shoot and pass at high speed.
He had an exceptional sophomore season and became a true star, not just an All-Star rookie.
As with most stars, the Magic live and die by the decisions they make on the court. In close games, the Magic should live and die by their decisions on the court.
Late game plays need to be made so Banchero can ultimately make this play.
It’s something everyone could have complained during loss to Sacramento Kings SATURDAY. In the wild sequence with magic trailing, Banchero didn’t take the last shot. He made the pass that ultimately led to Cole Anthony missing a three, but Banchero has the gravity late in the game to win that decision.
Banchero finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Saturday’s game. But in the final five minutes of the game, Banchero had just two points on 1-for-4 shooting and two assists. He was always involved and getting touches. But he was not the one who caused the offense.
And on that final play, he got rid of the ball quickly after a double team as the Kings forced someone else to beat them.
This seems to be a good strategy because Banchero was excellent at the end of the match all season.
Banchero has shown multiple times that he can make this shot. He’s a clutch player.
The most recent last second shot that connected was against the Detroit Pistons in February.
With less than seven seconds left in this game, Banchero recovered the ball on an isolation play on the left side of the court. He crossed in front of the defender and got to his spot, faking Jalen Duren and drawing the foul before hitting the jumper with eight-tenths of a second remaining.
The Magic won five of their next six games after that Banchero shot. The team seemed to have a certain type of swagger.
It wasn’t his first game-winner this year after beating John Collins to the basket for a hoop at the end of their win over the Utah Jazz earlier this season and after beating the Chicago Bulls in a win in November. This is the kind of play and shooting you expect from a star player.
They knew they had a guy they could give the ball to at the end of games and close the deal. It was one of the moments that Banchero will remember for the rest of his life, and it felt like the beginning of many more moments to come.
Banchero is the kind of player who, in the chaos of the end of a match, brings calm and balance.
At this point, there should be no reason for Banchero not to take these types of shots late in games when the game gets dicey. He is the player the team should turn to in these critical moments.
The team should prefer him to miss these shots over anyone else because the more he makes these types of shots, the more comfortable he will be in the future. They have to trust him to make the right play.
The play at the end of Saturday’s game may have been the right one, but it was also clear how shaken and rushed the team felt when the ball came out of Banchero’s steady hands.
And at the end of the match, Banchero was very firm.
Banchero is one of the best in the league in clutch situations.
He is currently ranked 11th in clutch points in the entire league with 96 points in 32 games in clutch conditions – a five-point game in the final five minutes. There are certifiable clutch players like Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic and, yes, De’Aaron Fox ahead of him in these rankings.
Banchero is shooting 30 for 77 (39.0%) in those situations with eight assists compared to 12 turnovers. There are still areas that Banchero can improve late in the game. But he proved he was capable of rising to the occasion.
And when the Magic make the Playoffs, they’re going to do it all late thanks to Banchero. It’s up to him to make the right decision and the Magic will go as far as they can take him in these situations.
The Magic have long been willing to put up with Banchero’s mistakes. And at the end of games, teams want the ball in the hands of their best player making the decisions. Banchero has shown that he will make the right choice more often than not.
Endgames involves running a play to place the best player in their preferred spot to make the best decision. That’s what seemed a little odd for the Magic on Saturday. Banchero got rid of the ball so quickly that it sped up everything from Orlando. Credit to the Sacramento defense for forcing that pass and taking him out of the game.
These are an opportunity to see what type of player Banchero can be if for no other reason. This is also an opportunity to judge what additional help he needs for next year.
The Magic coaching staff needs to exhaust every opportunity to get the ball to Banchero in tough situations so he can start to feel comfortable and the coaching staff can also feel comfortable. ‘easy. Coach Jamahl Mosely needs to create inbounds sets that play to Paolo Banchero’s strengths, not weaknesses.
There is no reason for Banchero not to shoot with over 20 seconds left on the clock. These are the signs of not only a young team but also a young coach.
Banchero may have made the right play at the end of the match. The Kings crashed into him and forced the ball out of his hands, sending the Magic into a spin.
Orlando ended up getting a good shot and two other good looks as well. Perhaps the team should have reset after the failure to ensure they executed a good play as time passed. Maybe there was no time left – the Magic finally got two open threes and a missed layup at the end.
Following. Magic best basketball 03/25/24. Orlando Magic aims to perfect their best basketball. dark
But the Magic must get the ball to their star player. Banchero is that star and ultimately the one who has to decide matches late.
