The Orlando Magic played their way into the eighth seed and now open their playoffs on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, where a matchup with the Pistons will start with Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero as the headliners.
That alone gives the series weight, but the numbers sharpen it. The Pistons split the season series with Orlando, and Cunningham’s last postseason run showed why Detroit leans on him: he averaged 25.0 points, 8.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds. Jalen Duren has become a different kind of fulcrum for Detroit, averaging 19.5 points per game in the regular season while carrying a career-high 21.3 usage percentage, which is the kind of workload that can change a series if Orlando cannot slow him down.
There is also a shooting edge Detroit thinks it can carry into the postseason. The Pistons led the league in 3-point percentage over their last 10 regular-season games at 42.3 percent, and several role players helped stretch the floor: Duncan Robinson shot 41 percent from distance on 7.0 attempts per game, Marcus Sasser hit 41.5 percent from 3-point range on at least 2.5 attempts per game, Javonte Green shot 38.1 percent, Daniss Jenkins shot 37.4 percent and Tobias Harris shot 36.8 percent. Orlando, by contrast, ranked 28th in the NBA in 3-point percentage on wide-open attempts during the regular season at 36.5 percent.
That contrast is why the matchup turns on more than star power. One preview question framed the Pistons’ side plainly: whether they have enough consistent 3-point shooting to properly space the floor for Cunningham. Another asked the same kind of thing from Orlando’s end, wondering if a pairing of Banchero and Franz Wagner can produce enough offense. The concern around the Magic is sharper because their offense has not reliably held up in half-court situations.
The other force hanging over the series is physicality. The matchup is expected to get rougher in the postseason, with a looser whistle than the teams saw in the regular season. Orlando is also dealing with a second straight year of injury trouble, and the postseason could end with a coaching change for the Magic, which adds another layer to every possession they play in Detroit. The Pistons, meanwhile, arrive with recent 3-point shooting as a real bright spot and a roster that looks more dangerous when the spacing is there. If Duren keeps scoring, Cunningham keeps controlling the game and Detroit keeps making shots from the perimeter, the underdog label may not fit for long.
