Magic's Gameplan for Hawks? It Starts and Ends with Trae Young

ORLANDO, Fla. – At this point in the Orlando Magic's season, there's no sense in playing coy.

Not when the team they see next is one they'll meet twice in the regular season's final four contests. Not when Play-In Tournament seeding and a Southeast division title are up for grabs versus that same squad.

Tuesday's game versus the Atlanta Hawks?

"It's definitely a big game," forward Paolo Banchero, a recent nominee for East Player of the Week, said Monday. "Two teams neck-and-neck in the standings, coming down to the last week of the season, so I'm sure both teams are going to be ready to play. I'm excited."

With four games remaining apiece, Orlando enters Tuesday's matchup a game ahead of Atlanta in the Nos. 7 and 8 spots in the Eastern Conference. With both teams bound for the Play-In Tournament, home-court advantage is awarded to the higher seed for the first game of the pre-playoff competition.

The Magic have benefitted from five days between games while their counterparts around the Association catch them in total games played. In that time, they claim to have benefitted from both the extra time in the gym and, more importantly, the time off their feet.

Rarely, if ever, does this happen in the normal NBA calendar for a team. Orlando's schedule wasn't originally built this way, but disaster- and weather-related schedule changes earlier in the year created this five-day bubble before a pivotal four-game close to the year.

At Saturday's practice, Jonathan Isaac described the time away as a "blessing in disguise." Back in the gym Monday, coach Jamahl Mosley agreed.

"I think it's great to have these days off because of being able to step away and look at the big picture of what's happening, watch the other teams playing in these moments, but also knowing that you get to recover your body, your mind and your spirit to be ready to go exactly when we come out tomorrow night," Mosley said.

"Taking care of your body is a big thing in this league," said guard Anthony Black. "When we get four days off, I think it's good to take some time. But guys are in here every day working regardless [of] practice or no practice. Coaches [are] in here working to get better, scheming. We've all been locked in over these four days, but we have been getting our rest. We're gearing it back up now for the game tomorrow."

To that point, minus earlier season-ending injuries to Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner, Mosley said his team is as healthy as it will be for the remainder of this year as they enter the final stretch.

However, extra time to prepare for the Hawks – Tuesday's opponent and the host of Orlando's regular-season finale – only further confirmed their previous notions of what challenges Atlanta could present.

"The same things they always present, which I think starts with Trae Young on the ball," Banchero said. "Great playmaker. You've got to key in on him. He can control a game if you let him, so trying to make his life tough."

Young's first two matchups against Orlando this year went very differently.

In their Feb 10 meeting. Young was held to just eight points through three quarters, shooting 3-11 and 0-4 from 3, and had seven turnovers to just five assists. But he caught fire with an 11-point final frame, helping the Hawks to a 112-106 victory at the Kia Center.

Ten days later, Young doubled his overall point total to 38, shot 13-28 from the field, and limited his turnovers to five with six dimes. Yet, he missed five of his last seven shots in the last 2:30, and Orlando left State Farm Arena with a 114-108 win.

Atlanta's star guard enters Tuesday's contest averaging 22.4 points and 14.0 assists (up from his NBA-best 11.6) per game over his last five games.

"They have different pieces," Mosley began, "but it all starts and ends with Trae."

Added Mosley: "I think how he's facilitating and passing the basketball right now, leading the league in assists. His ability to score at any time, just knowing where you have to pick him up, doing all of that without fouling. He generates – 90 percent of the offense is coming through him."

Orlando must be smart about how it defends Young. His sharing of the ball has led to five other Hawks averaging double-figure scoring in their last five games, including Dyson Daniels' 18.4 points on 64.1 FG% shooting and rookie Zaccharie Risacher's 16.4 points a night. Atlanta's offense, normally 19th across the league in offensive rating, is seventh in that time.

The Magic want to shut Young down. Franz Wagner, Orlando's do-it-all star forward and a fellow nominee for conference POTW, will likely draw his initial assignment. It's likely Young sees multiple different looks throughout the game.

But Orlando's third-ranked defense must be careful not to be so hyper-focused on stopping Young that others hurt them in the process.

"They've got some guys that can make an impact," Banchero said. "So we've just got to do a good job of making it tough on Trae Young, and then also getting out to some of those other guys and limiting their impact."

"It's a good team," Black said. "A lot of size, a lot of athleticism, so it should be a good matchup for us."

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