Banchero, Magic face hapless Wizards, after they gave up 83 to Bam Adebayo

 Trae Young is expected to play his first game in Orlando tonight rocking the (hopefully throwback golds) Wizards name on the front his jersey.

Young gives Washington a creative franchise cornerstone level point guard one-man offensive engine to build around going forward.

How will Washington unlock and develop their young talent as play-finishers around Trae?

How can Orlando slow down the Wizards from figuring that equation out tonight?

How can Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane keep the good times rolling?

Will Orlando extend their five-game winning streak to six?

Find out tonight on the next episode of Magic Ball Z.

3 Keys to a Magic Win

1. Contain Trae Young’s scoring creation without doubling or fouling

Trae shoots over Wendell — Apr 15, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

A walking good shot creator, Young can run pick-and-rolls all game long looking to create a FLOATA, free throws, a middy, a pull-up three, or a layup, and those are just his options to score himself – he could also snake dribble, stop on a dime, hit the dunker spot, skip pass dime to the corner, or look-off lob to the roller.

Trae is truly a master of the point guard craft, especially when it comes to efficient shot creation of threes, frees, and shots at the rim for his team.

Due to his size, defenses can take away Young's scoring threat with double teams, but they're sacrificing open looks at the rim and from deep elsewhere due to Trae's manipulative playmaking, which is what the Wizards hope you do.

Orlando's strong individual defenders like Jalen Suggs at the head of the point-of-attack snake will needs to chase, smother, and deny Trae as best they can on their own until someone forces a switch, but if the Magic send two, Trae will make them pay every time.

Force Young into tough shots like contested midrange pull-ups, preferably not his floater because he as mastered the art.

Trae Young and Jamir Watkins are off the Wizards’ injury report and will be available for tomorrow’s game vs. Orlando.

Bub Carrington, who hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career, is questionable with hip flexor soreness.

Davis, George, Whitmore and Russell remain out. pic.twitter.com/r4FbSBnbpH
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) March 11, 2026

2. Don't let the Wiz Kids catch you sleeping

Bilal reverse — Mar 10, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) shoots around Miami Heat forward Myron Gardner (15) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Wizards young core is full of impressive talent, starting with Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, and Tre Johnson providing Washington three complementary pieces who should all benefit from the shot creation afforded by their new all-star show runner at point.

Orlando can't leave these players open at the rim or the shooters open from deep because they are more than capable of popping off on any given night.

The Magic must not lose focus in a game where they could easily come up with a reason to take a breather – on a 5-game winning streak on second night of a back-to-back off an emotional high win over playoff rival Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando can't let the Wizards record fool them.

If the Magic can't individually sit down and guard their yard while handling their responsibilities on rotations and switches, they could easily leaving the wrong shooters open one too many times and find themselves looking up at the scoreboard and wonder how they let this one get away from them.

Don't falter to losing habits; stay the course; show up and compete as hard as the game before; don't let the young gun Wiz kids catch you sleeping.

3. Keep rolling the offense through the stars

Paolo drives — Mar 11, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Magic rate 1st in Defense and 5th in Point Differential since Feb 7 due to Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs, and Paolo Banchero finding balance for Orlando’s offense alongside Tristan da Silva and Wendell Carter Jr.

Banchero is looking more like his explosive self; Bane has flat out found a rhythm from deep as a shooter and close as a scorer; Suggs has reached another level as a two-way high-feel turnover-forcing pull-up point maestro.

Even da Silva has returned to form, scoring at a lights out rate while falling neatly into a more defined secondary creation off-ball play-finishing role filling in a front court full of injured forwards. (Franz Wagner, Anthony Black)

  For players stuck on the bench, injuries create opportunities to prove what you can do with more playing time, touches, involvement, scaling your role.

Carter and da Silva are finding chemistry in the handoff game. Mo Wagner off the bench, pushing the pace, energizing his teammates, driving coast to coast and downhill at times, showing more ball skills that meets the eye.

Keep doing what works – running offense through your best scorers, ball-handlers, decision-makers in complementary lineup combinations.

Focusing on feeding Banchero downhill as often as possible as Paolo hits his career high stride in scoring efficiency against the defense that just gave up 83 PTS to a playmaking tough shot-making foul-drawing big seems like the way to go.