Bianchi: Magic take 3-1 lead on Pistons, but won’t repeat McGrady’s mistake

We all know what happened next. Detroit won three straight games – Game 5 at home, Game 6 in Orlando and Game 7 back in Detroit – and the collapse became part of franchise lore.

That’s why what this current Magic team is saying – and not saying – matters so much.

After Monday night’s Game 4 victory, there was no bravado, no declarations and no viral sound bites waiting to be misinterpreted. Instead, there were clichés. “One game at a time.” “This is only one game.” “It ain’t over until we get to four wins.” For once, those lines didn’t feel tired. They felt intentional. They felt like a team that understands exactly what can happen when you get ahead of yourself.

“This means nothing,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We put ourselves in position to get to four wins, but right now it means nothing.”

When I asked Mosley if he might give his team a history lesson on the Magic losing a 3-1 lead to the Pistons in 2003, the coach replied: “That was my message in the locker room. It’s like the clip from Kobe (Bryant) saying, ‘The job’s not done. The job’s not done.’ Well, the reality is the job is not done. All we’ve done is put ourselves in the position with a 3-1 lead to go get a fourth win. That’s it “

This team seems to grasp something that previous Magic teams learned the hard way: winning Game 4 isn’t the finish line; it’s the pressure point. And now that pressure shifts squarely onto Detroit.

The Pistons are heading home for Game 5 with their season hanging in the balance, and they will be more desperate than a TikTok influencer without a ring light. Lose that game, and everything they built over an 82-game season disappears. Win it, and suddenly the series tightens, the doubt creeps in and the path gets a lot more complicated for Orlando. Game 6 would be back at Kia Center, and a potential Game 7 would return to Detroit, where anything can happen.

That’s how fragile a 3-1 lead can feel, especially here.

Still, what the Magic did in Game 4 cannot be dismissed. They didn’t just win; they won when they weren’t at their best. They won despite star Paolo Banchero hitting only 4-of-18 shots. They won despite point guard Jalen Suggs making only 1-of-13 shots. They won despite shooting just 32.6 percent from the floor and 25.7 percent from 3-point range.

But mainly they won with a defense that had been their calling card for the previous two seasons, but wasn’t nearly as intimidating or harassing during this regular season. That has suddenly changed in the playoffs.

The Pistons were only able to make 6-of-30 threes in Game 4 and the Magic continued to frustrate Detroit star Cade Cunningham. Even though Cunningham continues to get his points (he scored 25 Monday night), he’s not getting them efficiently or effortlessly. He made only 7-of-23 field goals in Game 4 and has committed 17 turnovers in the last two games.

And maybe, too, the basketball gods are finally on the Magic’s side after two injury-marred seasons. In Game 3, Banchero made a game-clinching 3 that bounded high off the back of the rim and fell through. And then in Game 4, Desmond Bane made the game-clinching shot when he banked in a three late in the fourth quarter and then folded his hands in prayer as he looked skyward.

The Magic are looking once again like the team many believed they could be before the season began – not just a pesky underdog, but a legitimate problem.

And yet, problems in the playoffs don’t go away until you eliminate them. Detroit is still here. Cade Cunningham is still here.

So yes, the Magic are up 3-1. Yes, the crowd inside Kia Center could feel something building. But if you’re asking what this moment truly represents, the answer is simple: opportunity, not accomplishment.

Because in Orlando, of all places, we know better than to celebrate too early. We’ve seen 3-1 before, and we’ve seen how quickly it can vanish.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen