There isn’t much of a competition for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference given the dominance of the Boston Celtics this season. But the race for the rest of the top-4 is heating up, and the Orlando Magic have entered the conversation after getting hot over the past few weeks.

Orlando Magic Now In 4th Place After Recent Surge

Paolo Banchero is leading a No. 4 seed Magic team while averaging 23/7/5 in his sophomore year with ZERO national media coverage.

Give him his flowers pic.twitter.com/TOu4CLNBcK

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 6, 2024

They got off to one of the best and most surprising starts of any team in the NBA. Led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the Magic started off with a record of 14-5 through their first 19 games, and were in second place in the East at the start of December. But the team faltered through the holidays, and things didn’t improve much throughout the month of January. Orlando would win just 10 of its next 28 games, and found themselves with a 24-23 record and in 7th place on January 30th.

They’ve improved vastly since then. As of Wednesday morning, the Magic have shot all the way up to 4th place after winning 12 of their last 15, overtaking the Knicks in the standings after New York has faltered in recent weeks.

The success has been thanks in large part to Banchero’s elevated play around his first All-Star appearance. Quickly becoming one of the most underappreciated young stars in the league, the second-year player out of Duke is averaging 23 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. He has been durable as well, as he has played in all but two contests so far this season. Banchero is averaging nearly 27 points over the last three games.

The Defense Has Been The Key All Season Long

The Orlando Magic are 36-26.

They have won 12 of their last 15.

They are the 4 seed in the East.

The early season play was not a fluke.

It was Magic basketball. pic.twitter.com/um1wXSs0JK

— PaoloMuse (@PaoloBMuse) March 6, 2024

But it has been the defense that has been the most crucial element to Orlando’s success this season. They give up an average of 109.5 points per game, the 3rd-lowest mark in the league, and rank first in the league in rebounds and assists given up to their opponents. Impressively, they have held 3 of their last 4 opponents to under 100 points, and the fourth scored 107. All four games were victories.

Can they keep it up The Magic have been aided by one of the softer schedules lately, as they took on the Detroit Pistons three times during February, as well as the Nets, Spurs, and Hornets. But things won’t ramp up for a couple of weeks still, as there are games against the Wizards and Hornets on the horizon, as well as two straight against the Raptors.

Orlando is favored by 7.5 points for tonight’s game against Washington.