Magic Power Rankings: Inching Towards Play-In?
Heading into the final stretch of the season, there is a tight race for playoff positioning while other teams are lottery bound ... but the Orlando Magic is somewhat in between.
With much thanks to Paolo Banchero, who has proven to be one of the building blocks of the young roster, the 13th-place Magic is currently four games in the loss column out of Play-In Tournament position.
The Magic ranks in the No. 25 slot in Sports Illustrated's most recent Power Rankings, in the same spot as the previous list. SI's reasoning behind the ranking:
"The Magic continue to quietly inch closer to play-in range with a 6–4 mark over their last 10. Wendell Carter Jr. tipped in the game-winner against the Pistons at home Thursday and Rookie of the Year favorite Paolo Banchero tallied 29 points in a win in New Orleans on Monday," SI writes. "Wedged in between those games was a 13-point loss over the weekend to the Pacers."
Can the Magic continue their winning ways? Continued defensive efforts would help. In February, Orlando's defensive rating (108.2) ranked third in the NBA behind only the Chicago Bulls (105.0) and Milwaukee Bucks (105.5).
Next up, the Magic is a four-point favorite against the Charlotte Hornets on the road Friday night.
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