Inside the Orlando Magic’s Quest To Shock the NBA Against Detroit Pistons | Deadspin.com The underdog has universal appeal because it represents all of us.
Undersized and beating the odds. The common citizen saving the world. The unassuming hero.
A No. 8 seed taking down a No. 1 in a playoff series is long shot gold. Or at least it should be.
The Orlando Magic are poised to join the underdog hall of fame this week in their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons.
At No. 8 and the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference, Orlando earned an official playoff spot only after a loss and then a victory in the play-in tournament. Now they have the top-seeded Pistons on the ropes with a 3-1 series lead.
Just eight games over .500 in the regular season, the Magic can now boot a 60-win team from the playoff field.
And yet the rags-to-riches tale does not seem to be captivating a nation like it should.
Don’t expect anybody to crank up the “Hoosiers” clips before what could be a decisive Game 5 on Wednesday. This isn’t even “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.”
Only six No. 8 seeds have ever won a first-round series against a No. 1 in NBA playoff history. Perhaps the most famous was in 1994 when the Denver Nuggets got past the Seattle SuperSonics in a best-of-five opening round.
The sight of Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo lying on the court and holding the basketball aloft — part laughter, part tears — is the picture of playoff upsets.
In 1999, the New York Knicks under Jeff Van Gundy knocked off the Miami Heat in another five-game thriller.
Other first-round conquerors, all in seven-game series, include the 2007 Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks; the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs; the 2012 Philadelphia 76ers over the Chicago Bulls; the 2023 Heat over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Perhaps it has happened too often to stir the senses.
Or maybe it’s that the top seed in this case was sort of the underdog of the regular season that rose to new heights. The Pistons had just ended a five-season playoff drought last year when they were dumped in the first round.
That 2025 playoff appearance came after they were a brutal 14-68 one season earlier. They had averaged just shy of 19 wins per season over the previous five campaigns.
This Pistons-Magic series is void of a proper villain.
In Orlando, though, there is nothing Mickey Mouse about it.
The Magic have been eliminated in the first round the last six times they have made the playoffs. They have not won a series since making the Eastern Conference finals in 2010 under Stan Van Gundy.
Orlando looked ready to turn a corner when Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs arrived before the 2021-22 season. They seemed well on their way when Paolo Banchero joined one season later.
They added Desmond Bane this season in an eye-opening deal that cost four unprotected first-round draft picks and a 2029 draft pick swap. Bane ended up delivering 20.1 points per game in the regular season while providing veteran leadership. In the playoffs, he is scoring 19.0 points while shooting 44.1% from 3-point range.
After Wagner missed 48 games during the regular season with an ankle injury, he has scored 16.8 points in the playoffs. Banchero has scored 21.0 points with 8.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the playoffs.
If the Magic can get past the Pistons, they look like they also have a chance against the Cleveland Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors in the next round.
If the Magic move deeper into the playoffs, maybe then they can move the masses then. It is a small world after all.
#Orlando #Magics #Quest #Shock #NBA #Detroit #Pistons #Deadspin.com
The underdog has universal appeal because it represents all of us.
Undersized and beating the odds. The common citizen saving the world. The unassuming hero.
A No. 8 seed taking down a No. 1 in a playoff series is long shot gold. Or at least it should be.
The Orlando Magic are poised to join the underdog hall of fame this week in their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons.
At No. 8 and the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference, Orlando earned an official playoff spot only after a loss and then a victory in the play-in tournament. Now they have the top-seeded Pistons on the ropes with a 3-1 series lead.
Just eight games over .500 in the regular season, the Magic can now boot a 60-win team from the playoff field.
And yet the rags-to-riches tale does not seem to be captivating a nation like it should.
Don’t expect anybody to crank up the “Hoosiers” clips before what could be a decisive Game 5 on Wednesday. This isn’t even “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.”
Only six No. 8 seeds have ever won a first-round series against a No. 1 in NBA playoff history. Perhaps the most famous was in 1994 when the Denver Nuggets got past the Seattle SuperSonics in a best-of-five opening round.
The sight of Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo lying on the court and holding the basketball aloft — part laughter, part tears — is the picture of playoff upsets.
In 1999, the New York Knicks under Jeff Van Gundy knocked off the Miami Heat in another five-game thriller.
Other first-round conquerors, all in seven-game series, include the 2007 Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks; the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs; the 2012 Philadelphia 76ers over the Chicago Bulls; the 2023 Heat over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Perhaps it has happened too often to stir the senses.
Or maybe it’s that the top seed in this case was sort of the underdog of the regular season that rose to new heights. The Pistons had just ended a five-season playoff drought last year when they were dumped in the first round.
That 2025 playoff appearance came after they were a brutal 14-68 one season earlier. They had averaged just shy of 19 wins per season over the previous five campaigns.
This Pistons-Magic series is void of a proper villain.
In Orlando, though, there is nothing Mickey Mouse about it.
The Magic have been eliminated in the first round the last six times they have made the playoffs. They have not won a series since making the Eastern Conference finals in 2010 under Stan Van Gundy.
Orlando looked ready to turn a corner when Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs arrived before the 2021-22 season. They seemed well on their way when Paolo Banchero joined one season later.
They added Desmond Bane this season in an eye-opening deal that cost four unprotected first-round draft picks and a 2029 draft pick swap. Bane ended up delivering 20.1 points per game in the regular season while providing veteran leadership. In the playoffs, he is scoring 19.0 points while shooting 44.1% from 3-point range.
After Wagner missed 48 games during the regular season with an ankle injury, he has scored 16.8 points in the playoffs. Banchero has scored 21.0 points with 8.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the playoffs.
If the Magic can get past the Pistons, they look like they also have a chance against the Cleveland Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors in the next round.
If the Magic move deeper into the playoffs, maybe then they can move the masses then. It is a small world after all.
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