Bianchi: This isn’t just a play-in game; it’s where the Magic’s future gets decided

(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

This isn’t just another play-in game.

Not for the Orlando Magic. Not for coach Jamahl Mosley. Not for team president Jeff Weltman. Not for Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs.

Wednesday night in Philadelphia isn’t about seeding or survival. It’s about something much bigger.

It’s about judgment.

It’s about direction.

It’s about whether everything the Magic have built over the past several years is actually working — or whether it just looked good on paper.

Because make no mistake: This moment — the next few days, the next couple of games and possibly the next couple of weeks — is a referendum on the Orlando Magic’s future.

Win Wednesday, and maybe this season still has a pulse. Maybe this young core validates the belief that it’s one of the most promising groups in the league. Maybe Mosley steadies his footing. Maybe Weltman’s patient, methodical rebuild continues uninterrupted.

Lose Wednesday, and it’s not over; at least not yet. The Magic would still get one more chance Friday night at home against the winner of the Miami-Charlotte matchup, a do-or-die game for the final playoff spot.

But let’s be honest: needing that second life would only amplify the questions, not silence them.

And if things go sideways for the Magic over the next two games — or even in the playoffs, should they get there — the questions that have been simmering all season will boil over.

About the coach.

About the roster.

About the toughness of this team.

About whether this pricey “homegrown core” is and actually good enough to matter.

And yes, even about everything from the strength and conditioning program to the direction of the franchise itself.

That may sound dramatic, but it’s not. This is the reality the Magic have created for themselves. Because here’s the truth: There are no more excuses. Not injuries. Not inconsistency. Not chemistry. Not timing.

All of that is gone now.

Franz Wagner is back. The core is intact. The roster is, for the most part, whole.

Would it have been nice to have a month or two to gel? Of course. But too bad. This is the NBA. Nobody waits for you to figure it out.

The Celtics didn’t need time. They locked up the No. 2 seed despite losing superstar Jayson Tatum for most of the season.

The Pistons didn’t need time. They held onto the No. 1 seed even with Cade Cunningham sidelined for weeks with a collapsed lung.
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Good teams adapt.

Good teams respond.

Good teams don’t spend April searching for urgency.

And yet, that’s exactly where the Magic are. Still searching. Still talking about it. Still trying to find something that should have been there all along.

“I think collectively, we just have to have more urgency. We can’t expect to win just because guys are out,” Banchero said after the Magic lost in the regular season finale to the Celtics.

Paolo’s comment wasn’t just about one game. It was about the entire season. Because Sunday’s 113-108 loss to a shorthanded Celtics team — a team resting its top seven scorers — wasn’t an isolated failure.

It was a pattern — a familiar, frustrating, seasonlong pattern.

Lack of urgency.

Lack of focus.

Lack of consistency.

Time and time again, Mosley has pointed to it. After the 52-point embarrassment in Toronto. After the loss to a 16-win Indiana team. And again on Sunday with a chance to host the play-in game with Philly.

Quite frankly, it’s sad to keep hearing how other teams — less talented teams — are playing with more effort and energy than the Magic. This team has been propped up by its potential and its paychecks, living off of what it could be instead of what it is.

Remember the preseason?

Remember the buzz?

This was supposed to be one of the best young teams in the league. A rising force in a wide-open Eastern Conference. A group ready to take the next step.

“This is the first time since I got here where it feels serious in terms of expectations,” Banchero said before the season. “I love that because now it’s time to win.”

Well, here we are.

It’s time to win.

Not next year.

Not in theory.

Right now.

Because if this team can’t summon urgency for a win-or-go-home game — or two — then what exactly are we talking about here? If it folds under pressure again, then maybe the uncomfortable truth is this: Maybe this team just isn’t as good as we thought.

The stakes go far beyond one play-in game. They stretch across this entire play-in window and possibly into the playoffs. If the Magic win, they move on. They likely see Boston again. They get another chance to prove they belong.

If they stumble, they get one more shot to save their season. And if they survive all of that, they get the top-seeded Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Then comes the ultimate test: proving this group can compete when it matters most.

We’ve already heard the chants from the not-so-cheap seats and the social media mob who want Mosley fired. We’ve already seen the frustration from fans. We’ve already questioned the team’s identity, toughness and manhood.

And, now, it all comes to head, and we will see who this team really is. Will this lost season continue to circle the drain or is this team willing to fight; not just for one game, but for its future?

You see, this isn’t just a play-in game.

It’s a mirror.

Except this time, there are no excuses; just the truth staring back at them.

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