Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane explained the “terrible feeling” after his team was knocked out of the NBA playoffs on Sunday.
The Magic had a 3-1 series lead on the Detroit Pistons, but they blew the lead and lost the series 4-3. This was despite them having a massive 22-point lead at halftime in Game 6 at home, a game that they truly should have won. Even in Game 7, they had the lead after the first quarter, but they coughed it up and were never able to get it back. Thus ends the Magic’s season, one where they snuck into the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 8 seed and nearly took out the No. 1-seed Pistons. In the end, though, they will be cleaning out their lockers tomorrow morning.
Desmond Bane Gets Honest About His Feelings
Speaking to reporters after the game, Bane was asked what his feelings were after the Magic were knocked out by the Pistons, and the veteran guard was brutally honest about how he felt.
“It’s terrible. We were a game away from moving on to the next round after all that we had been through this season with injuries and adversity. We felt we were right there to rewrite the story, and we didn’t, so yeah, it’s a terrible feeling, for sure. I didn’t want my season to end, and I know that all the guys in the locker room weren’t finished, either,” Bane said.
Changes Coming to Orlando
Last summer, the Magic traded a package of players and premium draft picks for Bane, in the hope that he would add to the team and help them take the next step in the playoffs. While Bane had a nice first season in Orlando individually, the team once again was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, something that has happened to them three years in a row now. Due to the lack of playoff success, expect the Magic front office to make some big changes.
The first potential change is at head coach, where Jamahl Mosley’s future with the franchise is heavily in doubt after he was not able to coach them to the second round of the playoffs despite a 3-1 series lead. For whatever reason, the Magic have just not been able to have any sort of playoff success with Mosley leading the way, so it feels like he will be the first change the team makes. After all, it’s much easier to fire the coach than to change all of the players.
Speaking of the Magic players, the team obviously has a few keepers, including Bane, superstar Paolo Banchero, center Wendell Carter Jr., and forward Franz Wagner. After that, things get interesting. Guard Jalen Suggs struggled in the playoffs and is owed a lot of money, Anthony Black only has one more year left on his rookie contract before he’s due for a big-money deal, and Jonathan Isaac has a bloated contract for an injury-prone player. That’s not to mention the team has several vets headed to free agency. It all adds up to what is sure to be a summer of change in Orlando, and one that likely starts with coach Mosley getting the boot.
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