PaoloBanchero

Preseason question: Banchero always manages to give you something to believe in—but, man, does he really test your faith in between those moments. He can dominate games with major stakes: He put up lines of 45-9-7 and 38-9-6 in two of the three games that Franz Wagner sat out in Orlando’s near series upset of the top-seeded Pistons. But he went 4-for-20 in the third game … and the Magic lost all three, letting a 3-1 lead slip away. Paolo is a rare talent—he has the size of a center, the mobility of a wing, the passing feel of a guard. But sometimes he’ll play like the rat chef controlling the whole operation took PTO. The Magic didn’t add much shooting over the offseason, instead hoping that a coaching change will make the difference. But that’s the easy move. If Banchero and Co. can’t make good on a cap sheet pushing up against the second apron, the next decisions will probably be much more drastic.