5 Storylines to Watch as Magic Enter Regular-Season Homestretch

ATLANTA – Starting Thursday night, 26 games remain between the Orlando Magic and the postseason.

The first test comes Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks, who are a half-game behind the Magic in the Eastern Conference standings. Tipoff is 7:30 at State Farm Arena.

Here are five storylines to monitor as the Magic seeks to improve their record and possibly their playoff seeding.

Close quarters in East standings

Orlando must hit the ground running in Atlanta.

The Magic are 27-29, seventh in the East playoff picture.

After the regular season, seeds 7-10 in each conference contend for the final two first-round playoff spots. Nos. 7 and 8 play for a first-round matchup versus the East No. 2 seed. The 7-8 loser plays the winner of the No. 9-No. 10 game for a shot at the No. 1 seed.

Each conference's top six teams are guaranteed playoff berths. Orlando is 2.5 games behind No. 6 Detroit, 3.5 games behind No. 5 Milwaukee, and 4.5 games back of No. 4 Indiana.

The Magic's pursuers are even closer: No. 8 Atlanta and No. 9 Miami trail Orlando by a half-game.

"I think a lot of guys understand that it's do-or-die right now," Wendell Carter Jr. said Thursday. "We want to win games [and] change the trajectory of our season. Dropping a lot of games before the break, we want to just get our train back going playing Magic basketball that we know we can play."

Three-point shooting struggles

The Magic are making only 30.6 percent of their three-point attempts per game — the NBA's worst rate by almost three percentage points.

Even a slight improvement makes a difference for the Magic, who remain competitive because of their defense. When the Magic have converted 32 percent or better from three, they are 17-5.

But those performances have been rare. Hamstrung by long-term injuries to their best players, the Magic are the league's lowest-scoring team.

No regular rotation players shoot better than 34 percent from three — well below the 35.9 percent league average.

Can Paolo Banchero return to top form?

Before the All-Star break, Banchero hoped the time off could help him round back into "elite shape."

On Tuesday at the team's practice, Banchero said the break was "really good to (him)."

The Magic need the player who started the season with a 50-point game and was averaging 29 points, nearly nine rebounds and five-plus assists.

Then he tore his right oblique muscle and the 34 games away took a toll. In 17 games before the break, his game averages were down significantly: 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.

His shooting percentages dropped while his turnovers rose — a sign of him still trying to get his legs and process the game at his normal capacity. He's still seeing double- and triple-teams, too — a byproduct of Banchero's offensive gravity, plus opponents can cheat toward Banchero because of the poor shooting surrounding him.

How far Orlando's push can go depends greatly on Banchero and Franz Wagner to create and facilitate offense.

Jalen Suggs' eventual return

The Magic guard is missing Orlando's return-to-play contest against the Hawks — his 10th straight absence with a bruised left quad. Since Jan. 3, Suggs has missed 20 of 21 games. Minus their All-NBA defender, the Magic are 6-14 with 10 double-digit losses.

Suggs didn't travel to Atlanta and is receiving treatment at the team's facility in Orlando.

Coach Jamahl Mosley said Wednesday that he believes "it's so important that we get him back fully healthy where there is no nagging pain as we go through it."

The Magic know well what the their defense misses when Suggs is unavailable.

"Just having him come back for us as soon as possible is going to be great for us," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said Thursday. "I think that's going to complete our team."

Changing road fortunes

Of the top 12 teams in the East, the Magic have the worst winning percentage in road games (10-19, .345).

Considering the Magic's likely postseason projections, they'll be a lower seed than their opponent and will have to win at least one playoff game on the road — something they couldn't do in last year's seven-game first-round series with Cleveland.

Fourteen of the Magic's final 26 games are at home, but seven of them are in a single homestand that begins Friday night against Memphis.

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