Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Magic took first blood in round one of the playoffs

Extra days of rest can be a blessing or a curse, and it was no help for the first-seeded Detroit Pistons in Game 1. They started sloppily, and the Orlando Magic, who had wiped out the Charlotte Hornets to advance to round one on Friday, opened with more vigor and mental focus, upsetting them.

It took most of the first quarter for the Pistons to wake up, and then they started making the Magic pay for turnovers and bad shots, plus had forced Desmond Bane into multiple contested, fallaway jumpers. The hosts were even in the bonus with nine minutes left in the first half, but the Magic were carried by Paolo Banchero’s mid and long-range scoring, and the team had shut off easy access into the lane.

The Magic subsequently survived a flurry, and their defense took further advantage of their opponents lacking a second high-level shot creator. Wendell Carter Jr. also contained Jalen Duren, and the Magic took a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Franz Wagner emerged as the go-to guy, ripping up schemes on the dribble and was immaculate on five attempts. Carter didn’t miss on three rim attacks, either.

The Magic won 112-101, and it was coach Jamahl Mosley’s first road playoff victory, too.

Observations:

•  It never turned into a blowout, but it was an embarrassing performance by the Pistons, which the Magic deserve credit for. Still, when a team gets shown up like that, they are usually a powerhouse in the next one. The Magic will need to match their mental sharpness and avoid being satisfied with a split because they can make this series ugly. They have two potent shot creators in Banchero and Wagner when they play like this, and their defenses’ size and physicality is comparable to Detroit’s. 

• The Magic struggled to make 3-point shots consistently and had poor ball security, so they got killed on the break as a result. Their defense was dominant, holding the Pistons to 102 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 13th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Yet the only downside was that they fouled too often, allowing the Pistons to take 38 freebies, making 29.

• The Magic’s two best games of the season have been in highly pressurized situations, which included the elimination game they thumped the Charlotte Hornets into the lottery. Could they have turned a corner overnight? The picture will be clearer by the time the series shifts back to Orlando.

• Some stars will do what they want, either turning into a scorer or passer against whatever scheme, and Cade Cunningham was no different, totaling 39 points on 48.1 percent shooting, with five rebounds, four assists and three turnovers. He’s a big, strong point guard with a quick first step, and 14 of his points came in the lane.

• The starters scored between 16 and 23 points, but the X factor was Carter, who made 88.9 percent of his attempts and had five assists against zero turnovers. On top of that, Jalen Suggs was a pest on defense, racking up three steals and a block. He later fouled out with 93 seconds left in the game while the Pistons were on life support.