{"id":247681,"date":"2026-04-26T23:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T23:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247681\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T23:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T23:02:09","slug":"desmond-banes-game-3-explosion-is-exactly-what-the-orlando-magic-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247681\/","title":{"rendered":"Desmond Bane\u2019s Game 3 explosion is exactly what the Orlando Magic needed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before the Orlando Magic’s Game 3 win over the Detroit Pistons<\/a>, it would have been fair to have a lot of doubt about Desmond Bane.<\/p>\n

He struggled in the first two games of the series to find his shot, making a few timely ones in the Magic’s Game 1 win<\/a> but mostly failing to give the Magic the 3-point shooting they famously spent four first-round picks to acquire to boost their shooting.<\/p>\n

Jalen Suggs and his teammates never lost faith. Suggs said he went up to Bane before the lights dimmed for the anthems for Game 3 to tell him they would keep feeding him. They wanted him to keep up his confidence.<\/p>\n

Shooters never lose confidence, they just need to see the ball go through the hoop.<\/p>\n

In a flash, Bane gave the Magic the offense they really needed on his way to 25 points and a franchise playoff-record tying seven 3-pointers, including making his first five.<\/p>\n

“He was missing them, and we were still finding him and telling him to shoot regardless,” Suggs said in the locker room after Game 3. “They were all great shots. A lot of them were just short or just long or interior misses. I love how he came out. He was confident. . . . He’s a rhythm player. He has been elite all year. I’m going to keep finding him. Whether he is making or missing, I’m getting you the ball, and you’ve got to shoot the open trey balls.”<\/p>\n

A big reason why the Magic won Game 3 was because of the shooting threat Bane constantly provides. Even if Bane took only four shots in the fourth quarter — his lone 3-point make put the Magic up 11 to open the quarter — his presence and the threat of his shooting opened everything up for the Magic.<\/p>\n

That is what they signed up for. And Orlando put together its best offensive game of the season.<\/p>\n

The Magic’s playoff revival has seemingly come out of nowhere. The team suddenly looks like the group everyone imagined they would be in the preseason. And the missing piece was Bane.<\/p>\n

Bane’s impact on the series<\/p>\n

The idea of acquiring Desmond Bane was a simple one for the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n

They were one of the worst shooting teams of the past decade last season, and reasoned that adding one of the most efficient high-volume shooters in the league. It was worth the cost for a team that has struggled to shoot.<\/p>\n

Bane needed some time to get his feet under him. But he finished the regular season shooting 39.1 percent on 5.2 3-point attempts per game.<\/p>\n

The Playoffs were a different story though.<\/p>\n

Bane went 1 for 8 in Game 1 and 2 for 7 from deep in Game 2. According to NBA.com’s tracking stats, Bane was 2 for 8 on wide-open threes, where the closest defender was six or more feet away. A big part of the Magic’s struggles offensively to open the series was Bane missing shots.<\/p>\n

If the Magic were going to retake control in the series and potentially score the upset, they needed Bane to deliver.<\/p>\n

“Everybody in the locker room knows how he was feeling after the first two games,” Paolo Banchero said after Game 3. “He wanted to play better. But he still has that same swag. He wasn’t in his head, he cut it loose from the jump tonight. That’s what we need. We’re thankful to have him in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Bane got things going immediately, scoring on a reverse layup to open the game. He made two three-pointers in the first quarter to help the Magic stake an early lead.<\/p>\n

Bane manipulated his spacing, floating to open space and getting passes and reads from the Magic’s main stars. With both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner able to get downhill, the defenses have to decide to collapse on them or leave Bane open. Bane ended Game 3 a perfect 3 for 3 on wide-open threes.<\/p>\n

“You have to guard him,” Jalen Suggs said in the locker room after Game 3. “You have to chase him. Not only can he be used to get buckets. But he’s an elite distraction. You have to keep a body on him, or he’s going to burn you. He was great tonight, not just on offense but in every phase. Des has all-around been a great teammate. He deserved tonight. He deserved to hit some shots.”<\/p>\n

Bane has more than fit in with the team and the culture it wants to build. His 3-point shooting has been felt at every layer.<\/p>\n

And his big game Game 3 only seems to be a preview of what is still to come.<\/p>\n

The present and the future<\/p>\n

The Orlando Magic are not a typical 8-seed.<\/p>\n

Injuries hit the team hard and forced players into different roles. The team struggled with inconsistencies and the weight of their expectations.<\/p>\n

The Magic got precious little time with their best players together. <\/p>\n

The trio of Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner played only 365 minutes and 23 games together. Their 0.6 net rating is clearly not what they potentially can be.<\/p>\n

In this playoff series, that trio has a +5.4 net rating (107.8\/102.4) in 62 minutes. There is clearly something there to build on.<\/p>\n

The whole season has been waiting to see how this puzzle actually fits together. This playoff series has shown hints of what that can look like and how competitive this team can be.<\/p>\n

“For this one game, it was really good,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Game 3. “That’s what we keep looking at. Desmond knocking some shots down, Paolo was distributing and playing defense and we comunicated the right way. Wendell was great. When each person contributes during this game, that’s the most important piece. It’s the one game we did it the right way.”<\/p>\n

There is still a lot of work to do. The Magic still need to win two more games to clinch this series. The Detroit Pistons have a tough defense and have put an emphasis on slowing Bane down.<\/p>\n

But while the Magic want to win immediately, this series also provides further proof of concept that the Magic have a core group they can build around.<\/p>\n

“It’s super cool,” Bane said after Game 3. “My first year here, so laying a foundation for hopefully a long time here in orladno. Super cool. Hopefully, we go break it before this postseason is over with.”<\/p>\n

Bane and the Magic hope this is the first of many big-time performances like this. They hope there are more playoff showings like this and they make offense like Saturday’s a more permanent fixture.<\/p>\n

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