Orlando Magic open Game 4 hoping to turn Detroit Pistons into bigger disappointment

Just because they're halfway to a stunning series conquest, don’t be gaslit into believing the Orlando Magic have been better than a No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference this season.

If this season’s team photo isn’t in the dictionary next to mediocre, it’s because it has already taken up residence next to disappointing.

What has happened thus far in the East’s 1 vs. 8 series has more to do with the Detroit Pistons shrinking.

What the Magic are looking to do in this first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs is force the Pistons to replace them in that “disappointing” entry in 2025-26 for the rest of time. They’re halfway there, but there’s a lot of work left.

Orlando has proven it can be difficult to score against in a manner that barely made a cameo this past season after being the team’s identity outside of being young or shorthanded due to injuries the past few years. A Magic roster blessed with great positional size has actually lived up to the expectations that come with being able to hustle and guard, finishing off a possession by grabbing a rebound.

That’s defense. Getting a spot and cleaning the glass. The Magic were outrebounded 57-42 in the Game 2 loss but have won the battle of the boards by six in each of their wins in this series.

Orlando has made All-Star center Jalen Duren look small. Cade Cunningham has gotten off but has also been forced into sloppy play. A likely All-NBA First-Teamer who is averaging 31 points per game in this series has committed 16 turnovers over the last two contests. If he can’t rein in the miscues, it’s hard to see a comeback coming.

It would be easy to write that the Magic have to go up 3-1 to win this series, but we don’t participate in false propaganda. What we’ve seen thus far is that Orlando can lose the next three games even if it goes up 3-1 or win the next one and escape in five.

Detroit’s 30-3 start to the third quarter of a must-win Game 2 that was tied at the half is proof it can turn things around. Orlando has been better at home than on the road, but all the Pistons have to do is get one at Kia Center and both back home in the D in order to survive.

So where exactly are we prior to Game 4? For Orlando, this is a great opportunity to hold serve while setting its fans up for one last massive disappointment.

Detroit could back itself into a corner even further as it heads back home, but maybe it needs to hear that its regular season was a fluke for a few more days. Given Duren’s disappearing act, the Pistons need someone besides Tobias Harris to help take pressure off Cunningham since the veteran forward is 3-for-16 from 3-point range despite averaging 18.7 points through the first three games.

Are Caris LeVert and Kevin Huerter going to get more opportunities to have an impact off the bench? Late-season hero Daniss Jenkins went 1-for-7 over 22 minutes in the opener and has played less than 20 since.

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff enters Monday looking for the right combination after being outcoached by good friend Jamahl Mosley, who entered the series as a lame duck more likely to be directing the Pelicans than the Magic next season.

On the heels of a brutal Game 82 loss to Boston’s backups and a play-in tournament setback against the 76ers, Orlando looked like a dead team walking entering its elimination game against Charlotte as a home underdog.

The Magic blew out the Hornets and has outplayed the Pistons, setting the stage for either their greatest triumph or latest failure. It helps that Franz Wagner and Anthony Black look healthier than they’ve been in months and Paolo Banchero has met the moment.

Desmond Bane, Orlando’s most consistent presence all season, isn’t likely to replicate his 7-for-9 showing from 3-point range, but if his team is going to move to the brink of advancing to a semifinal date opposite the Cavs-Raptors winner, he’ll again have to excel.

Entering Monday night’s showdown, we can comfortably expect the unexpected. It feels like the Magic or Pistons are more likely to lose Game 4 than the opposite, but this definitely appears to be a series where the strongest-minded team will advance.

Who that currently is looks like anyone’s guess, which is a rough look for a Pistons team that spent all season getting lauded for their toughness. Detroit has blown getting the benefit of the doubt against an Orlando squad that saw that ship sail away weeks ago.

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