'I Suck Right Now': Magic Rookie Paolo Banchero Experiencing First Career 'Slump'
ORLANDO - It hasn't been the best week for Orlando Magic No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero.
The Magic lost each of its three games by double digits and added insult to injury in the team's loss Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons, where a fight resulted in nine of his teammates receiving suspensions. Majority of the suspended players sat out of Friday night's loss at home to the Washington Wizards, a winnable game if the team had more bodies.
Banchero scored 21 points on an inefficient 7 of 24 shooting, which turned out to be his best stat line of the week.
"It hurts when you can't score," Banchero said. "We came out with good energy. We defended them well. We couldn't make shots, I couldn't make a shot, so that's on me. I had some point-blank looks, some jumpers that I usually hit, so I just gotta shake this little, whatever you want to call it, slump, and move on."
Before his performance on Friday, Banchero scored a career-low four points in a loss Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers and posted just 15 points on Wednesday against the Pistons.
Banchero scored at least 20 points in each of the team's six-game win streak, but the rookie is beginning to learn that the NBA isn't all roses and rainbows.
"Sometimes that's what happens," Banchero said. "That's what I've been learning. Sometimes you have early success and you think that's what it's going to be like all the time and then you have games like this where you're just like, "Damn, I suck right now."
Banchero is still an overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year averaging 20.9 points per game, but he hopes to learn from his mistakes and move forward from these struggles he's facing.
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