This is the Magic team everyone expected, and the Pistons are in for a first-round slugfest

They wound up in the Play-In Tournament and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 7-8 game, largely in the same uninspiring fashion they displayed all season. It made it seem like Friday night's do-or-die game vs. the Charlotte Hornets was a forgone conclusion. The Magic would lose, slink into the offseason, fire Jamahl Mosley and start looking at potential trades for Banchero.

That also did not go according to plan.

Instead, the Magic obliterated the Hornets, who showed up expecting to put on their usual circus act, only to realize the Magic were there for a demolition derby.

It was the version of the Magic that everyone expected to see from the start this season, especially with the physical, at times straight-jacket, defense. Banchero was superb with 25 points, taking and making efficient shots and making quick decisions to get downhill and finish with force.

Paolo Banchero goes WAY UP for the tough jam 😤

Winner tonight faces DET in Round 1! pic.twitter.com/nZE0AAjPtE

— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2026

And again ...

Pure Paolo power 💪

Downhill for another and-1 to give him 16 in the half! pic.twitter.com/yXGAeTWD5v

— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2026

And again ...

Paolo Banchero is COOKING 😤

12 PTS on 5/7 shooting after this and-1, powering an early Orlando lead! pic.twitter.com/1tkRiWMGIu

— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2026

And when Charlotte managed to cut the drive off, he did this:

WATCH THIS PAOLO PASS 🤯

A no-looker over the shoulder to cap a 18-5 Magic run! pic.twitter.com/pHd4souvBJ

— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2026

This was superstar stuff from Banchero, who was hesitant in all the wrong ways on Wednesday against Philly. The Magic looked fantastic. And sure, maybe you can say it was a desperation effort at home against a whatever Hornets team (even though they were one of the better teams in the league over the last few months).

Is this version of the Magic a threat to the Pistons?

There's no saying this will carry over against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round. But there's also no saying it won't. Again, this is the team the Magic were supposed to be all along. Banchero has had sustained stretches of this kind of play. He's a superstar-level talent. Bane has been good all season. Wagner is rounding back into form. Suggs is a beast. This is about as talented as a No. 8 seed team can be in the Eastern Conference, and they are facing something of a mirror-image opponent in the Pistons.

Both teams smother you with physical defense that is officiated way more leniently in the playoffs; this stands to be an absolute street-fight series. Both teams struggle to shoot. The Magic don't have a creator like Detroit's Cade Cunningham, but you could make a case that Orlando's big three of Banchero, Wagner and Bane represent more star power than Cunningham and Jalen Duren.

Both teams do the bulk of their damage inside. Nobody gets to the free-throw line more than the Magic, but the Pistons are close. Orlando is a good offensive rebounding team, but Detroit is better. Everything about a series like this screams slugfest, which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it could be fun nonetheless.

Can the Magic beat the Pistons? Probably not. When you have a whole season's worth of evidence against a single game, go with the former. But don't completely rule out the Magic, who are not your typical No. 8 seed in terms of talent.

If they bring the fight like they did Friday night, the team everyone expected to show up all season might actually stick around a little longer.