Paolo Banchero on Magic’s future as season ends bitterly: ‘We’ve got to be better’

“Obviously, missing Franz (Wagner) is a big piece of what we do on both sides of the ball,” Bane added, “but we still had our chances to close this thing out.”

The stats back up Bane’s assessment. The Magic went 0-4 when they were out-rebounded by the Pistons. In Game 7, Detroit held a 41-33 advantage on the glass.

And Bane wasn’t wrong about missing Wagner either.

As Orlando built its 3-1 series lead, Wagner averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals in 30.4 minutes per game.

He also served as the primary defender against Detroit’s Cade Cunningham.

Cunningham averaged 6.8 turnovers in Games 1-4. Wagner suffered a right calf strain late in the third quarter of Game 4. In Games 5-7 without Wagner on the floor, Cunningham’s turnovers dipped to 4.6 per contest.

“That doesn’t make it necessarily feel any better,” Bane said speculating on the series outcome had Wagner not gotten hurt. “This is reality and that’s a what if.”

“Franz has been a warrior,” Bane added. “He’s been fighting to get back from his ankle all season. (He) came back early just to try to build some chemistry with us. I never doubt where Franz’s heart is at. He wants what’s best for the team and that’s just who he is. Injuries happen. It’s unfortunate and he shouldn’t feel like this is on him or feel any weight. Some of those things you just can’t control.”

Even without Wagner, the Magic had positioned themselves to win the series in Game 6, but blew a 24-point lead in the second half at Kia Center.

Despite all the ups and downs this year brought the young Orlando squad, it could be that Game 6 loss that might linger the longest.

“Losing Game 6,” Magic guard Anthony Black said in the locker room when asked what’s going to stick with him from this season.

Added Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. in the locker room: “I think we just drank the Kool-Aid. We were just right there.”

Orlando entered this season with high expectations both internally and externally, and yet it ended the year in the same spot as the last two seasons.

Questions surrounding coach Jamahl Mosley’s job security only grew louder as the year progressed. For a team many predicted would compete for a high seed in the Eastern Conference and earn homecourt advantage in a playoff series or two, at the very least, the Magic ended up needing two shots in the play-in tournament just to make the playoffs.

And after it went up 3-1 in the series against Detroit, eighth-seeded Orlando failed to capitalize on the opportunity to advance out of the first round for the first time since 2010.

So where do the Magic go from here?

In Banchero’s opinion, the work begins sooner rather than later.

“It starts in the summer,” he said. “It’s about winning habits. It’s about just creating a winning environment every single day. From September to now, we’ve just got to be better. We’ve got to be better. And it doesn’t start in April when the playoffs start. It starts in September, October, when we get everybody in the building. You build habits, you create an environment where losing isn’t acceptable. Losing in the first round is not acceptable. It’s not good enough.

“That should be the attitude. It shouldn’t be comfortable in the building. It should be everybody on their Ps and Qs feeling pressure to be great because this result is not good enough. So, I think that’s the mindset that needs to be there from top to bottom.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com