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On Saturday afternoon, Paolo Banchero and the new-look Orlando Magic will make their playoff debut against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series will mark the team's first playoff appearance for the first time since the 2019-20 season, where they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. With standouts like Banchero and Franz Wagner, fans are eager to see the team play.
Despite that, many were quick to react to the fact that the team's first-round series will be tipping off midway through the day in the United States. While teams like the LA Lakers and Denver Nuggets will play in the afternoon prime time slot, the Magic-Cavaliers series will mark Banchero's first ESPN game of his career.
The way some fans see things, the NBA hasn't done their part to market the team. With two young stars, the future seems to be bright for the Orlando Magic, however many fans have yet to ever see the No. 1 pick play.
Under a tweet calling on fans to predict Paolo Banchero's statline in his playoff debut, many reacted to the league's lack of marketing ahead of this point.
This prompted fans to call the league out for not doing more to position the Magic in a more ideal slot in an effort to maximize viewership.
"This is an insane fun fact, league has completely buried the magic." - @Khadeezy (Twitter)
"The media really done Banchero bad, how'd a no 1 overall pick take his team to the playoffs in yr2 and no one saying anything bout it" - @FineInTheWest (Twitter)
"He gon get the small market curse and drop a bad stat line on national tv" - @MannyKnowsHoops (Twitter)
"lowkey its crazy he’s never played on ESPN national tv before" - @Chutney_Biryani (Twitter)
Some fans weren't sold on a dominant performance in Banchero's playoff debut, however.
"I’m sorry but I feel like paolo gonna drop in the playoffs" - @RaptorsGen (Twitter)
"I feel like either he gonna turn up and average 30 ppg in the playoffs or fall off and average 17 on bad efficiency. But I think he’ll turn up he ready for this moment" -@Diego31Santiago (Twitter)
"He’s either gonna have the greatest game of his life or a stinker, no in between" - @MoMoneyMastb8r (Twitter)
"He cant perform in big games" - @Trippinayla_05 (Twitter)
Others however were optimistic that Banchero would have a big game, predicting some big statlines.
"35/7/9 demolishes the fraud Cavs" - @OVOKB76 (Twitter)
"35, 10 and 4" - @TheRealJarrell (Twitter)
"27, 8 and 4" - @LowkeyRealm (Twitter)
"27/7/4 48/32/80" -@Bantonappp (Twitter)
Looking at Paolo Banchero's season stats and recent games against the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of Magic's first-round matchup
This season, Paolo Banchero has managed to take his game to the next level, improving on many of his stats compared to last season. While his rookie year was impressive enough, his growth in year two has been jaw-dropping.
In addition to improving his scoring average from 20.0ppg to 22.6ppg, Paolo Banchero also improved his playmaking, going from 3.7apg to 5.4apg. His efficiency also notably improved, as he went from 42.7% from the field to 45.5% from the field.
It was more of the same from downtown as Banchero also took his three-point percentage from 29.8% to 33.9%. His growth also was showcased in the team's four-game regular season series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the two teams split games with two wins a piece.
The first time the two met this season on Dec. 6, where the Cavaliers picked up a 121-111 win. In that instance, Paolo Banchero erupted for 42 points, while also adding six rebounds and two blocks to the team's box score.
The two teams then met the following week, where the Orlando Magic got their revenge in a 104-94 win that saw Banchero drop a 20-point 10-rebound double-double. The Magic then lost their Jan. 22 rematch to the Cavaliers 126-99, with Banchero struggling.
Over 29 minutes he scored just 18 points, while recording three rebounds and six assists on 1-4 from downtown. Despite that, when the two teams then met in February, the Magic picked up a 116-109 road win even though Paolo Banchero again struggled, going just 4-15 from the floor with 12 points and six rebounds.
When the two teams collide on Saturday, it will be interesting to see if the team is able to rise to the occasion in Paolo Banchero's first playoff series.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
