Sports
Magic’s Paolo Banchero seeks to dominate in Year 3, with an ever-evolving ‘voice’ and game
Time is on my side, yes it is…Time is on my side, yes it is…
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mike Krzyzewski, as ever, didn’t mince words.
“When I was at Duke, I was 18,” Paolo Banchero said Tuesday. “And I remember Coach K would just be on me, all the time, (about) using my voice, as being the best player and the guy on the team, you’ve got to speak up. You can’t be quiet. You can’t ever be quiet. Because at the end of the day, I’m a high-IQ player, I see the game really well. If I’m not out there talking the game, it’s doing everyone a disservice.”
Banchero and the Orlando Magic have come so far, and so fast, it’s hard to remember those admonitions from Krzyzewski came just three years ago, when Banchero was among the last of the blue-chip recruits Coach K got for the Blue Devils before retiring from coaching at Duke after 42 seasons at the helm. So, Banchero knows pressure. How’d you like to be a freshman, and the best player, on Mike Krzyzewski’s last team?
Duke made the Final Four in 2022. But the Blue Devils lost Coach K’s last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. To North Carolina. And they lost in the national semifinal, in the Caesars Superdome. To North Carolina.
So, yes, Banchero and the Magic losing Game 7 of their first-round series in Cleveland last spring, after leading the Cavaliers by 10 at the half, stung. It stung badly. But Banchero’s felt it before. This summer, he worked to further improve his game and his body in a push to make Orlando a top-four team in the Eastern Conference this season. Top four means home-court advantage in the first round, which means a Game 7 in the first round would be at Kia Center, rather than on the road.
“I don’t think there’s one area where you say, ‘Here’s the next step,’” said Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman about his star player.
“I think it’s just continued growth, on and off the court. And I think it’s really understanding how he can use his abilities to leverage the game, to make his teammates better. He’s got his own stuff that he wants to improve on. I think, we believe, he’s going to be an excellent 3-point shooter. He’s going to be a guy who gets to the line frequently while he is lifting up his teammates.”
Now 21, Banchero made his first All-Star team last season, following up his Rookie of the Year campaign of 2022-23. He became the youngest player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring, rebounds and assists in a single season. The Magic followed his lead, vaulting up to 47 wins last year, just two seasons after going 22-60. He continued to be a robust presence in the mid-post, showing he could draw fouls at a rapid rate at his still-young age (his seven free-throw attempts per game was 10th in the league last season, tying with Damian Lillard).
And in his first playoff series, Banchero raised his game further. A mediocre 3-point shooter (32 percent) in his first two regular seasons, Banchero leveled up in the Cleveland series, shooting 40 percent (16 of 40) on 3s, splashing them with more confidence than he’d ever shown before. His usage rate, already high (29.2) in the regular season, was even more robust (33.9) against the Cavs.
Banchero’s rapid rise has helped center Orlando as, perhaps, the team with the highest ceiling in the league. Certainly, there isn’t a team in the East with a longer runway over the next five to seven years, with so much young talent on its roster.
You can make an argument that Oklahoma City’s core, led by 26-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, flanked by 22-year-old Chet Holmgren, 23-year-old Jalen Williams and 25-year-old Luguentz Dort and now including 26-year-old Isaiah Hartenstein, is as good, or better, than Orlando’s. But Magic forward Franz Wagner turned 23 in August, two months after guard Jalen Suggs. Guard Cole Anthony is 24. Center Wendell Carter Jr. is 25. And forward Jonathan Isaac, who led the NBA last season in estimated defensive plus-minus (4.1), turned 27 on Thursday.
Orlando became a defensive powerhouse last season, finishing third in the league in defensive rating, using its withering length and defensive quickness to suffocate opposing offenses. The Magic’s own offense came in fits and starts during the season. But in Game 6 against Cleveland, Banchero, Wagner and Suggs became just the third trio of players aged 22 or younger to score 20 or more points in the same playoff game. (The Thunder had two sets of 22-and-unders do it: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, both during the 2011 postseason.)
The Magic, though, remain sober about where they are.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Wagner said.
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are the two standouts of Orlando’s young core. (Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)
On the floor, Banchero continued his upward path on offense last season, responding to coach Jamahl Mosley’s challenges to be quicker with his decisions offensively and to improve defensively. But there’s still a lot of room for further improvement. Banchero ranked just 102nd in the league in estimated offense plus-minus, per Dunks & Threes. He needs to get better off the dribble and in pick-and-rolls.
Banchero spent most of the summer in his native Seattle, where his personal trainer put him through it, including a couple of circuits up a slope known locally as “Heart Attack Hill.”
“What I realized in the playoffs is that it takes you being in tip-top, elite shape to make a full run,” Banchero said. “After that Game 7, I was all the way spent. … In my head, I’m like, Cleveland’s going to play Boston in two days. If I feel like this (after the first round), how would I be able to shake back for another series, another two or three more series if I want to go all the way? It made me realize that I have to get in better shape, so that was my whole summer. I worked on my body three or four days a week — sometimes lifting, sometimes agility, some days conditioning. Just trying to get in the best shape heading into this season. And obviously, as the season goes on and on, just trying to stay consistent with my habits, and once you get to the playoffs, just having that second wind.”
But the Magic also needed to address their woeful shooting. They were only slightly better behind the 3-point line last season (35.2 percent) than they were in 2022-23 (34.6 percent). Banchero, Wagner, Suggs and Anthony all get downhill great, but there was no one who spaced the floor as a legit threat from deep.
Enter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who left a three-time league MVP in the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić to sign a three-year, $66 million deal this summer with the Magic.
The veteran wing has shot 38.5 percent or better from deep in each of his last five seasons, playing off LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles and Jokić in Denver. With the Washington Wizards in 2021-22, Caldwell-Pope didn’t have any teammate nearly as formidable in the frontcourt, yet still made 39 percent of his 3s. And at 31, Caldwell-Pope is exactly the kind of grizzled vet — with two rings — Orlando needed to complement its young core. Veteran point guard Cory Joseph can similarly get the Magic organized when Banchero is on the bench.
Banchero’s a more than willing passer. But now he has someone who can do damage when he draws double-teams.
“When I talk to Paolo, it’s about him being in the post,” Caldwell-Pope said. “When they bring two (defenders), what you see? I always tell him, if you see the pass, you make the pass. If I bring two, I’ve done my job. Now, my man is open in front of me. I’ve got to make that pass instead of making a bad decision trying to (dribble) through two. The more mismatches he can get, the better he can be. … I was telling him earlier while we were playing, if you see me in the corner when you’re bringing it up in transition, I’m coming over to set the step-up (screen) for you. That’s easy, 101 right there. Or switch or show, whatever they’re going to do, you still have that whole side to yourself, and you can go to work.”
Caldwell-Pope’s and Joseph’s presence on the floor and in the locker room “makes us grow up a little bit, I think, with two older guys who’ve been on championship teams,” Banchero said.
“The story of our team, the first two years I was here, was having a lot of guys that can make plays and get downhill but not a lot of guys that can make a defense pay by making shots on the perimeter. I think with KCP, those small windows that you have to drive because the defense is plugging, with KCP out there, those windows open up a little more. And if they want to keep plugging those windows, you just spray it to him, and it’s an easy knockdown for him.”
As a team, Orlando’s contending window is opening, wide. But only if the Magic learn from Game 7 and move forward in similar circumstances the next time.
“My office is right there,” Mosley said, pointing up to the third floor of Orlando’s ridiculously plush, lavish, 100,000 square-foot palace of a practice facility a block from Kia Center.
“It’s stuck at the clip, 68-71, third quarter,” he said. “Franz is starting to bring the ball up, passes it to Markelle (Fultz). I was just watching it. A reminder. To learn and to really reflect back, you have to watch it. You have to feel the sting (again). But you can’t harp. You have to learn from it. You say, ‘Yeah, it sucked. We should have won. Hundred percent.’ But we didn’t. So, now, what are we going to do? And that’s the only way you become a great team, is by getting callouses.”
Internal improvement this season will require the young guys to get comfortable being uncomfortable with one another too. It can’t all come from Mosley or his staff or Caldwell-Pope. Tough conversations during a long season are sometimes difficult, especially with a young and still-maturing group. But Banchero, who is obviously in line for a rookie extension starting with the 2026-27 season, and Wagner, who got his ($224 million) in July, know they will have to make their voices heard as much as their games are seen.
“Honestly, that’s something we have to grow into,” Wagner said. “We’re not the super-outgoing personalities, not the yellers on the team. At some point, that’s going to be required from us, though, especially with each other. We’ve got a great deal of respect for each other. We both really enjoy playing together. I think we have a great relationship. I think that’s the start, just having that trust that when you are holding each other accountable, the other person knows it’s coming from a good place.”
It’s something Banchero has had to grow into as a pro. Even if it was drilled into him by a coaching legend.
“That just comes with, your first year, you don’t want to say too much, because you’re not even sure you’re doing the right thing sometimes,” Banchero said. “And I think my second year I got better at it, but it was up and down. This year, (I want to be) just a super consistent voice for our team and for the group. When I see something, when you just say it, it gives everyone, whether it’s the guys you’re playing with, your coaches, whoever you say it to, it gives them a chance to take what you said and adjust.
“Instead of you holding it, and now the same s— keeps going on, and you lose, you go down 10, 12 points, whatever it may be. I think me just being a consistent leader and consistent voice is going to take us to another level.”
(Top photo of Paolo Banchero: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley entered the record books with his performance in a 37-20 over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Barkley rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He set a record for the most rushing yards in a single game by an Eagles player and finished with the ninth most in a single game. He was four yards away from passing Jamaal Charles, who had 259 rushing yards in a single game. Adrian Peterson has the record with 296 yards.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Barkley, who has had a resurgence this season, was the sparkplug Philadelphia needed. He ran for a 70-yard touchdown to jumpstart the team coming out of halftime.
He put the exclamation point on the game in the fourth quarter. He received the hand off from Hurts, made a move and zoomed through the Rams’ secondary for 72 yards.
Barkley also had four catches for 47 yards.
Kenneth Gainwell added a touchdown of his own late in the third to add to their lead.
Jalen Hurts was 15-of-22 for 179 yards and had a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. The star wide receiver had six catches for 109 yards.
JOSH JACOBS SCORES 3 TOUCHDOWNS AS PACKERS DOMINATE INJURY-RIDDLED 49ERS
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Los Angeles was within six points of the lead after Matthew Stafford threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with 10:51 left in the third quarter. But after the Gainwell touchdown, the Rams missed a field goal on their next drive and punted after that.
Stafford threw a garbage-time touchdown to Cooper Kupp but the offense was far from what it needed to be to compete against the high-octane offense of the Eagles. They had no answer for Barkley.
The veteran quarterback had 243 passing yards on 24-of-36 passing. Puka Nacua led the team with nine catches for 117 yards. It’s the second straight game Nacua was over 100 yards receiving.
The Eagles (9-2) increased their NFC East lead over the Washington Commanders, moving two wins over them in the win column. The Commanders fell to the Dallas Cowboys in a barnburner earlier in the day.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles fell to 5-6 as the NFC West continued to be as competitive as ever. The Seattle Seahawks picked up a win over the Arizona Cardinals while the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Green Bay Packers.
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The Dodgers’ World Series trophy was in the house. So was Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles.
Also on hand Sunday night at SoFi Stadium were members of the St. Louis Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl championship team, including four Hall of Fame players from an offense known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Despite their presence, the Rams demonstrated once again that they cannot yet be considered championship material — not at least with what consistently has been a less-than-great offense and a defense that got steamrolled by Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley amassed 302 total yards as the Eagles rolled past the Rams 37-20 before a crowd of 74,400 — about half of them Eagles fans.
The defeat dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6. Though unimpressive, it is not a death knell for the Rams’ playoff hopes, especially with the Arizona Cardinals (6-5) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6) both losing Sunday.
The Rams have six games left, starting next Sunday at New Orleans.
Rams cornerback Cobie Durant trips up Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
They then will face the Buffalo Bills at home before traveling to play the 49ers in a key NFC West game. They finish with a road game against the New York Jets and home games against the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks (6-5).
The Rams probably won’t be bound for the postseason, however, unless they eliminate momentum-killing turnovers, protect Stafford better and become more consistent in the kicking game.
On Sunday, a Rams defense that had performed fairly well in a defeat by the Miami Dolphins and a victory over the New England Patriots could not handle Barkley. The seventh-year pro rushed for 255 yards in 26 carries and scored on runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half. He caught four passes for 47 yards as the Eagles won their seventh game in a row and improved to 9-2.
Stafford completed 24 of 36 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns on a night the Rams went 0 for 8 on third down. Stafford was sacked five times
Puka Nacua caught nine passes for 117 yards. Cooper Kupp caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
A.J. Brown catches a touchdown pass past Rams safety Quentin Lake to give the Eagles the halftime lead.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams led 7-3 in the first quarter on Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run, but the Eagles kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown on a pass from Jalen Hurts to receiver A.J. Brown to take a 13–7 lead at halftime.
Minutes after the 1990s band Smash Mouth played at halftime, Barkley smashed the Rams in the mouth.
On the first play of the third quarter, he took a handoff from Hurts, broke through the line of scrimmage and cut the right sideline en route to a 70-yard touchdown that increased the Eagles’ halftime lead to 20-7.
The Rams answered with Stafford’s short touchdown pass to receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Then Barkley struck again.
He caught a short pass from Hurts and turned it into a 31-yard gain to the Rams’ 14-yard line. On the next play, Kenneth Gainwell rushed for a touchdown and a 27-14 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Rams drove to the Eagles’ 15 but after a holding penalty and a sack, Joshua Karty missed wide right on a 47-yard field goal attempt.
The Eagles added a field goal, and late in the fourth quarter Barkley broke free again for a 72-yard touchdown.
The Rams added a late touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Stafford to Kupp.
NORMAN, Okla. — No. 7 Alabama (8-3) saw its College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes take a big hit in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma (6-5) at OU Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe completed just two passes in the first half before finishing 11-for-26 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide’s first two drives of the third quarter resulted in Milroe interceptions, the second of which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Oklahoma’s Kip Lewis. Oklahoma outgained Alabama 325 yards to 234, driven largely by the Sooners’ 257 rushing yards.
“We finally did the things that winning requires,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “All three phases, they complemented each other. They punched first and punched back. Tonight, we finally punched last.”
This was the lowest-scoring output for the Crimson Tide since a 20-3 loss to South Carolina in 2004. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team by 21-plus points since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7).
The Crimson Tide are 1-3 on the road against SEC opponents this season, while the Sooners secured their first Power 4 win since Sept. 28 against Auburn.
“The harder it is, the more epic the story.”
Brent Venables after @OU_Football‘s win over No. 7 Alabama 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dytz9r0FQa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 24, 2024
What does this mean for Alabama’s postseason hopes?
The Tide no longer control their own destiny and are now a Playoff long shot. They had the inside path to the CFP as the second-highest-ranked SEC team, with a 5-5 Oklahoma team and 4-6 Auburn team left on the schedule. That’s all been blown up.
CFP-wise, the Tide will now fall behind Georgia, which won Saturday and has just two losses, as well as Tennessee, which has a win against Alabama. Losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M and Colorado on Saturday could help the Tide from falling too far back and keep them on the fringes of the at-large mix, but getting a first-round home is off the table. The big winner from Saturday’s madness could be the ACC’s hopes of getting two bids. According to The Athletic’s projections model, Alabama fell from a 76 percent chance to make the Playoff before Week 13 to just an 11 percent chance after the loss to Oklahoma.
Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are also gone with three conference losses. Georgia will meet the winner of Texas-Texas A&M in Atlanta.
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What does this mean for Oklahoma?
It’s been a rough season for the Sooners, who hadn’t won a game against an FBS opponent since September, but getting to bowl eligibility and a marquee win on Senior Night has to feel good. For as bad as the year has gone, through all the quarterback problems and offensive issues, the defense kept playing hard and kept the Sooners in games. Two interceptions led directly to 14 points, including a pick-six to go up three scores.
Oklahoma’s 257 rushing yards were the most allowed by Alabama this year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t do much in the passing game (68 yards total), but he didn’t have to. The offensive coordinator search remains ongoing, and the Sooners can’t have another season like this, but it’s something to feel good about as Venables heads into an offseason needing to fix the program.
Kip doesn’t like teams from Alabama…@KipLewis9 | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/jCLU5BjI6G
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 24, 2024
An all-too-familiar fate for Alabama on the road this season
Vanderbilt. Tennessee. Now Oklahoma. Alabama’s three road losses have a common thread: costly turnovers. The latest misfortunes came in a game that might have eliminated the Tide from the Playoff.
Three second-half interceptions by Milroe arrived at critical times. Milroe’s 11-for-26 passing stat line with three turnovers mark his worst performance of the season. It was one part of an all-around, flat offensive performance — 234 yards, just 70 on the ground, and only 4.1 yards per play.
Oklahoma’s top-ranked rushing defense was keyed in on Milroe-designed runs from the start, allowing three rushing yards on his first eight carries. Milroe finished with just seven rushing yards on 15 attempts while Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 carries total. Without that element, Alabama’s offense couldn’t establish any momentum. It didn’t hurt that there were a myriad of mental errors that cost the offense positive plays from drops, missed assignments and penalties.
Defensively, Saturday’s loss felt similar to Alabama’s first road loss at Vanderbilt — out-played at the line of scrimmage and out-game planned against a sound rushing attack. Despite an 83rd national rank in rush offense, Oklahoma gained over 250 yards on the ground, 128 of them by quarterback Jackson Arnold, who only passed for 68 yards.
It was a summation of Alabama’s season to date — dominant at times, appearing capable of playing with anyone, and other times disjointed where errors compile on each other which creates sometimes insurmountable deficits. There’s no other way to look at Saturday’s game as a collapse in a crucial spot, but not a moment that’s been unfamiliar this season-highs followed by lows.
How did Oklahoma win the game? Turning its season on its head
Oklahoma’s season has been marred by misfortune, but Saturday night had all of the elements for a top-10 upset. The Sooners were off by a bye, hosting Alabama on Senior Night with bowl eligibility on the line. On the field, Oklahoma turned its weaknesses into strengths.
Oklahoma entered Saturday night having given up the most sacks (41) and fourth-most tackles for loss (80) in the country. Saturday? Zero sacks allowed and four tackles for loss allowed.
Oklahoma entered Saturday with the 86th-ranked rushing offense in the country (143 yards per game). Saturday? 270 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 73rd in turnover margin (minus-1) and 107th in turnovers lost (18). Saturday? Oklahoma won the turnover battle by a plus-1 margin and scored 14 points off turnovers.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 105th nationally in time of possession (28 minutes). Saturday? Behind its dominant run game, the Sooners converted 7-of-15 third-down tries and held the ball for over 35 minutes.
In a day of home underdogs pulling off upsets, Venables delivered a signature win and a subsequent field storming, Oklahoma’s first since 2000.
The play that defined the 4th quarter
For a brief moment, it appeared Alabama regained momentum to start a comeback. On a fourth-and-2, down 24-3 with 14:13 to play, Milroe rolled out and found Ryan Williams about 40 yards downfield for a highlight-level touchdown with Williams getting one foot down in the corner of the end zone. However, the officiating crew threw a flag for illegal touching on Williams, wiping away the score.
Alabama thought they scored on this fourth down play from Ryan Williams but the play was overturned due to illegal touching. pic.twitter.com/25U0QuLjQH
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024
It was a puzzling call in the moment and on replay, as Williams didn’t appear to be out of order pre-snap or during the play, but after the initial call and a referee meeting, the call stood and Oklahoma took over on downs. Alabama never reached Oklahoma territory again.
(Photo: David Stacy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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