Three Reasons the Magic Are One Game Away From Eliminating the Top-Seeded Pistons

The Magic fought to keep their season alive in the 2026 play-in tournament and secured the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over the red-hot Hornets in an elimination game.

Orlando's prize as the No. 8 seed was a first-round matchup with Detroit, who were the class of the Eastern Conference all season long and won 60 games behind All-Star guard Cade Cunningham and breakout 22-year-old big man Jalen Duren. It was a shocking turnaround for the Pistons, who won a franchise-worst 14 games just two seasons ago, but Detroit was expected to grow after it made the playoffs last season and took the Knicks to six games in the first round. Now, as the top seed in the East with expectations for the first time, the Pistons have found themselves in a 3–1 hole to the Magic.

The Magic stumbled toward the end of the season but got hot at the right time with a statement win over Charlotte in the play-in and a decisive win over Detroit in Game 1. At that point, the Pistons had life. They had a long layoff between the regular season and the play-in tournament. Second-year coach J.B. Bickerstaff just needed his team to bounce back like it had all year.

Detroit's prolific defense powered a 30–3 run in the third quarter of Game 2, which pushed the Pistons to even things up as play switched to Orlando. It was anyone's series after Game 2, but the Magic's defense continued to thrive, and the offense gave just enough to take both games at home. That has now pushed the Pistons to the brink of elimination.

Monday night's Game 4 felt like a must-win for Detroit—even the series and head back home with a chance to take control. Jamahl Mosley's squad was ready, though, and held the Pistons under 90 points to grab a 94–88 win despite a lackluster shooting night. Mosley's future with the franchise was uncertain a short time ago, but now the Magic are on the verge of the second round, and just one win away from a shocking upset of the top-seeded Pistons.

What turned around for Orlando in such a short amount of time? And what went wrong for Detroit? Let's dive in:

Orlando's defense has forced Detroit into an incredible amount of turnovers

Paolo Bancher — The Magic forced the Pistons into 20 turnovers during Monday night's Game 4 | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Pistons committed 20 total turnovers in Monday's loss. Some of those were silly ones, but the majority were as a result of the Magic's defensive pressure. Cunningham has remained the primary source of offense for Detroit, but he had eight turnovers in Game 4 after giving up the ball nine times in the Game 3 loss.

Orlando is a strong team defensively, and it has taken the pressure to a new level thus far in the postseason. The Magic don't have a player they need to hide on defense, which is a rarity in today's NBA. Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane have each made an impact defensively, plus Jalen Suggs has continued his play as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. As a group, the Magic defense has forced the Pistons into 18 turnovers a game thus far, with the pressure on Cunningham specifically working well. Turnovers have been an issue at times over his career, but he has mostly cleaned that up and averaged 3.7 turnovers per game this season. Now that the Magic have forced Cunningham into nearly double-digit turnovers three times this series, it's tough for Detroit to win when it gives up the ball so much.

The Magic's supporting cast has outperformed Detroit's

In a series between two defensive-minded teams, the offense hasn't been anything to write home about over the first four games. Orlando and Detroit have given us an old-school battle, and the Magic have come out on top by a landslide thus far. Other than a massive third-quarter run by the Pistons in Game 2, Orlando's defense has stood out and kept Detroit's star power at bay. That's due in large part to the impactful defenders on both the perimeter and the down low for the Magic.

Jamal Cain, who started the season on a two-way deal, provided great minutes for Orlando in Monday's Game 4 as he helped force Cunningham and the Pistons into numerous turnovers. Anthony Black is a great defender off the bench, plus Goga Bitadze hasn't made Detroit's life easy near the rim in his minutes as the backup big. The Pistons' depth was a big reason why they won 60 games and earned the No. 1 seed in the East this year, but Orlando's supporting cast around Banchero, Wagner and Bane has simply outplayed Detroit's.

All-Star big man Jalen Duren has been a non-factor for the Pistons

Duren had a breakout season this year, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and earning his first All-Star appearance at just 22 years old. But his postseason hasn't gone to plan. He has averaged just 9.8 points per game over the first four contests against the Magic. A lot of that is a credit to Orlando's defense and specifically Wendell Carter Jr. for neutralizing Duren near the hoop, which is where he thrives.

What's most concerning for the Pistons, however, is Duren's lack of aggression thus far. He has gotten up just eight field-goal attempts per game over the series, including a difficult eight-point night in Game 1. Duren averaged 11.5 field-goal attempts over the regular season, and Bickerstaff needs his star big man to be a bit more selfish to go and get his, no matter how difficult the Magic make it. Detroit is missing nearly 10 points a night from Duren compared to what he provided over the full season, and he hasn't made up for the lack of offensive production on the defensive side of the floor, either.

Next up, Orlando will have their chance to end the series and advance come Wednesday's Game 5 at 7 p.m. ET.

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