Before the defeat in Boston, Orlando had achieved a superb series of 11 victories in 13 games and the level of play displayed by Paolo Banchero over this period contributed greatly to this. It was also the strong winger who started this highlight by scoring the winning shot in Chicago on November 15 (94-96).
Injured finger, Wendell Carter was not able to participate but took the opportunity to appreciate the overall slaughter of Paolo Banchero, only in his second year in the NBA and who still displays very good stats, with big progress on the outside address (38.2% of 3-point success).
Having been around the phenomenon up close for a year and a half now, Wendell Carter Jr sees the former Duke resident finish his career among the best players in history.
“Paolo will be a Hall of Famer”, he said in the “Pod Squad”. “He understands the game so well at such a young age. People don't realize but what they see is a player in his second year who is still analyzing the game on a broader level. It's just phenomenal to watch, especially right now when I'm on the sidelines and not on the field. Just seeing the way he reads the game, what he sees during games, and what he says during timeouts. The guy is really special.”
At the service of the team
What made the Magic strong in this series was also its team, and in particular the way in which Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero were able to share the ball. For Wendell Carter Jr, this way of knowing how to put his ego aside for the good of the team makes Paolo Banchero stand out from the competition.
“He has no ego. You can look around the league, there are a lot of young stars coming through, and they have this thing where it's their way or nothing. But for Paolo, I feel like what makes him even more special is that he just wants to win, and he does whatever he needs to do to help his team win.”.
While he was expected in Boston on Friday evening in the absence of Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford in the opposing racket, Paolo Banchero suffered a hole by surrendering 14 points at 5/17 shooting and 5 lost balls in a large defeat, 128 to 111. Will he have the reaction of a “Hall of Famer” for the “remake” tonight at TD Garden? Response from 9 p.m.
| Paolo Banchero | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | ENT | 72 | 34 | 42.7 | 29.8 | 73.8 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 20.0 |
| 2023-24 | ENT | 24 | 34 | 48.1 | 38.2 | 67.8 | 1.4 | 5.3 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 20.4 |
| Total | 96 | 34 | 44.1 | 31.6 | 72.5 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 20.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
