Orlando finds the Magic to re-take series lead vs. Detroit after Game 3.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n Almost nothing has been settled yet in the 2026 NBA Playoffs<\/a>, but we know this much about the Orlando Magic: What they are from this point forward is up to them.<\/p>\n No more of this hot-cold, up-down, focused-vague stuff from the Magic anymore, please.<\/p>\n They have a 2-1 lead on Detroit in their first-round playoff series<\/a>, they are at home Monday for Game 4 (8 ET, NBC\/Peacock<\/a>), they are as healthy as teams generally are at this point in the calendar and they are fresh off a rousing victory<\/a> Saturday in Game 3.<\/p>\n The stars are aligned for Orlando to make a definitive statement about its season and its ambitions in that wedding ceremony tradition: Win now or forever hold your peace about any wouldas, shouldas or couldas for what this was all about.<\/p>\n If Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and the rest truly are an atypical No. 8 seed \u2013 a possibility based on their work against the Pistons so far \u2013 they\u2019ll demonstrate in the next several days.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the Magic will let Detroit off the hook, the Pistons will reset for the East semifinals and the unfulfilled promise of the first 82 will become their through-line.<\/p>\n Here are three things to watch for as Detroit tries to even up the series and regain homecourt advantage:<\/p>\n 1. Duren won\u2019t go quietly into summer<\/p>\n No doubt about it, the Pistons young center, Jalen Duren, has struggled in the first three games. A finalist for Kia Most Improved Player<\/a>, his series stats (9.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg) are down near his rookie levels. He has been limited mostly to alley-oops and put-backs on offense, and even the want-to work of rebounds has been a challenge.<\/p>\n Duren showed up for Game 1 as only the second player in NBA history<\/a> to average at least 19.5 points on 65% shooting in a season \u2013 Wilt Chamberlain was the other.<\/p>\n He\u2019s adrift now, the Magic having disrupted Duren\u2019s two-man game with Cade Cunningham and found paths past him at the other end.<\/p>\n But the 22-year-old\u2019s underachieving has led to some big-time over-blaming from fans and media. Detroit has had other issues \u2013 shooting woes and Cunningham\u2019s turnovers, to name two. And Duren has appeared in just nine playoff games to date.<\/p>\n It would be silly for anyone to write him off in the series.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s understanding, for all of us, that what we did [in a 60-22 season] is good enough,\u201d said coach J.B. Bickerstaff. \u201cNot overthinking and \u2026 because it\u2019s the playoffs, wanting to do more or be different.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Cunningham of his usually ferocious teammate: \u201cThese last three games haven\u2019t went the way he wants, or we might want for him. But I and the whole team have no doubt that he\u2019s going to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Wendell Carter Jr. as Orlando\u2019s X factor<\/p>\n most rebounds in a playoff game by a Magic player since Dwight Howard ! <\/p>\n shout to Dell pic.twitter.com\/WtbtCHX5QZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Carter doesn\u2019t get a lot of attention in how the Magic conduct their business. Banchero and Wagner are the big versatile forwards with the ball in their hands. Bane is the deep threat. Jalen Suggs is the point guard flying around with football toughness.<\/p>\n Carter, deep into his eighth NBA season, is the plow horse grinding in the paint.<\/p>\n But he also happens to be a gauge on how this season has gone. Since the start of the regular season (including SoFi Play-In Tournament<\/a> and playoff games), Orlando is 22-10 when Carter scores 14 points or more, 26-29 when he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n In this series, Carter had 17 points in Game 1 and 14 with 17 rebounds in Game 3, compared to three points and six fouls in the Game 2 loss.<\/p>\n \u201cI can never say enough about [him],\u201d said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley during the season. \u201cWhat he does without even having to get a shot, get a play run for him \u2026 he just does everything the right way. And he\u2019s continuing to just play, setting solid screens, hitting rollers, guarding multiple positions without batting an eye.\u201d<\/p>\n Carter also has shown there are more than two ways to be tough, offering an alternative to Duren\u2019s rippling muscles or Isaiah Stewart\u2019s glare, which could make an opponent run through the stands and out an arena door.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty simple,\u201d Carter said after Game 3. \u201cI knew I had to be the most physical player on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. No cramps in Bane\u2019s stroke<\/p>\n The exertion and fatigue got so intense in Game 3, Orlando\u2019s Desmond Bane had to sub out for the final 1:29 \u2013 his legs were cramping up after he logged 38:19 and matched Banchero with 25 points Saturday. A more encouraging stat for the Magic was his 7-for-9 success behind the arc, much improved from his 3-for-15 in the series\u2019 first two games.<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t much talk of scapegoating Bane after the Game 2 defeat \u2013 he gave Orlando a strong performance in his first season in central Florida, appearing in all 82 games, averaging 20.1 points and narrowly missing the elite 50-40-90<\/a> shooter\u2019s club.<\/p>\n most 3s made in a playoff game by a Magic player since Dennis Scott in ’95<\/p>\n DB for threeeeeee pic.twitter.com\/KRMjVdEWhj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Still Bane is the non-superstar for whom the Magic sent four first-round draft picks<\/a> to Memphis in a stunning trade last summer. He was viewed as a final puzzle piece for Orlando, with the finished picture showing them playing beyond the first round.<\/p>\n \u201cI could go on and on about Desmond Bane,\u201d Mosley said Saturday. \u201cBecause he\u2019s such a professional, because he doesn\u2019t rattle, because he stays the course and comes to work every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven 3s tied a Magic franchise playoff-game high, previously reached by Dennis Scott. And it was one shy of Bane\u2019s personal best in a postseason game with the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here<\/a>, find his archive here<\/a> and follow him on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n