NBA Today: Orlando’s Magic Runs Out

This week, Jarrett Allen absolutely dominated the first Game Seven of his career; Cade Cunningham led the way as Detroit stormed into the conference semis for the first time in nearly 20 years; and Jaylen Brown, called for 10 offensive fouls in the series, accused the referees of having an agenda against him. Other Fantasy basketball stories we’re tracking include…

Franz Wagner’s Injury Doomed Orlando

The Orlando Magic looked to be in complete control of their first round matchup against Detroit, but somehow managed to let a 3-1 series lead disappear, thanks mostly to a shocking loss in Game Six at home. Orlando led by 24 points, but couldn’t buy a bucket in the second half when it scored a mere 19 points, allowing the Pistons to pull off a miraculous comeback and force a seventh game.

In the deciding game on Sunday, the Magic came out strong, but Detroit took over in the second quarter and cruised to a 116-94 win.

Last season was a setback for Orlando as it dipped to .500, but 2025-26 proved a step in the right direction with 45 wins, even if the end result – a third straight first round exit – was the same. And this one must sting way worse as the Magic became just the 15th team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series advantage, ultimately costing Coach Jamahl Mosley his job.

Paolo Banchero again did his part to keep Orlando afloat, scoring 38 points with nine boards, six assists, four three-pointers and a block to cap an impressive series in which he played heavy minutes and averaged over 26 PPG despite not shooting as well as usual.

But what really hurt the Magic was the loss of Franz Wagner (calf) for the final three games of the series – all of which were losses. The team’s second leading scorer had an injury-riddled season and played the fewest MPG of his career, yet still managed to top 20 PPG.

Wagner is still just 24, but injuries have really affected his short career to date. Still, there’s a lot to like here as his three-point shooting bounced back, and if he could just stay healthy, Orlando would be so much harder to stop with the one-two-three punch of him, Banchero and Desmond Bane (all of whom averaged over 20 PPG this season).

Wagner managed to take on a slightly bigger workload in the playoffs before being shut down, but clearly wasn’t at his best. With him sidelined, Anthony Black and Jamal Cain got extra burn, yet despite the opportunity, they both really fell flat in the postseason, only exacerbating Wagner’s absence.

Without Wagner, Orlando’s offense has to run through Banchero, and it’s just too one-dimensional to succeed. But hey, it’s great if you owned Paolo on your Fantasy team.

Despite his injuries issues, Wagner remains a top 25 player in Dynasty leagues. Coming out of Michigan as the eighth overall pick in 2021, his best features were his size (6’10 as a SF/PF), passing and jump shot, with some concerns over his athleticism and strength.

Really, the main thing that’s held him back has been availability, at least over the least three seasons. But hey, at least he seems to be healthy in the virtual world…

Lakers Find Secondary Scoring

One team that didn’t blow a big series lead – but not for lack of trying – was the Los Angeles Lakers. Without top scorer Luka Doncic for the entire series and also missing Austin Reeves for the first four games, they surged to a surprising 3-0 lead before letting Houston pull within 3-2. On Friday, the Lake Show finally wrapped the series up with a 20-point victory as ageless LeBron James continued to lead the way.

Despite the resounding win, the Lakers remain a major longshot to win the Western Conference (+2700 as per FanDuel).

Still, with Doncic and Reeves out for most if not all of the series, L.A. needed someone to step up, and Rui Hachimura (the “Japanese Jordan”) did exactly that.

Hachimura headlined our waiver wire picks just before Christmas 2023 and it was mostly a solid choice as he didn’t get as many touches in January, but really tore it up over the final three months.

Unfortunately, injuries – always an issue with him – have continued to haunt the forward since, and he hasn’t been able to duplicate the efficiency he showed that season, despite getting more PT. Hachimura’s bucket count dipped last season and fell even further in 2025-26 as he averaged under 19 Yahoo Fantasy points for the first time in his career.

That’s why it was such a pleasant surprise to see him pour in nearly 16 PPG over the course of this series. And Hachimura will continue to start in the second round against OKC as Doncic remains out for now. No, Hachimura is not a good Dynasty league asset, but if you’re seeking scoring help right now, he can help.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

In the first half dozen years of its existence, Rush underwent several lineup changes but when Neil Peart took over on drums in July 1974 (four months after the eponymous debut), the classic lineup was formed. The second side of its third album, Caress of Steel, is one long piece entitled “The Fountain of Lamneth.” Here’s the sixth and final part, “The Fountain.”