Magic continue their tailspin since star’s return

The Orlando Magic held on in the Eastern Conference playoff race with All-Star Paolo Banchero out. They’re spiraling with him back now, even when he’s scoring.

Banchero scored 31 points Monday night, with 20 coming in the third quarter. But Banchero’s teammates scored just five points in the third quarter, losing the quarter, 33-25, and the game, 112-106, to the Atlanta Hawks.

The loss drops Orlando to 26-29, half a game behind the Hawks in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Since Banchero returned from a torn oblique a month ago, the Magic are 4-12.

He’s averaging 19.5 points, shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from three-point range. Banchero is dishing out 4.8 assists per game but turning the ball over 3.4 times. His free-throw attempts, rebounds, assists and shooting percentages are all down, but his usage rate is at 31.4 percent. That would be the NBA’s fourth-highest usage rate over a full season, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cade Cunningham.

Essentially, Banchero is dominating the ball, but not scoring efficiently. Since Franz Wagner returned from his oblique injury 10 games ago, his usage is even higher, at 34.7 percent, but at least he’s shooting 46.1 percent and getting to the foul line for 6.6 attempts per game.

Wagner had 37 points in Monday’s loss. He and Banchero combined for 68 points — and 51 shots. They had seven assists combined. It’s a level of ball dominance that simply isn’t working for Orlando, even if the box-score numbers are impressive.

When Banchero and Wagner were out, many other Magic players had to step up. Now, they’re being shut out of the offense. It doesn’t help that Orlando point guard Jalen Suggs has played only 16 minutes since Banchero’s return, but the Magic’s two young stars have to find a way to keep their teammates involved and engaged.

The Magic banded together to cover for their stars’ absences. Banchero especially needs to realize that the team had a winning record without him. It’s time to give them a chance to demonstrate how.