Paolo Banchero is back to his early-season form. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 34 as OKC got a statement win over Boston and clinched a playoff spot; LeBron James (groin) is making progress, but has headed back to L.A. for treatment; and Jaden Ivy (broken fibula) is out of his walking boot and still thinks he can come back this season.
Paolo Banchero Is Back
Since bottoming out in 2021-22, the Orlando Magic has been a team on the rise, improving to 34 wins the following season before taking the leap to 47 last season, when it snapped a three-year playoff drought.
This season, however, has brought challenges in the form of injuries that have decimated the offense (28th for the season) and left the squad struggling to play even .500 basketball.
Currently, Orlando is comfortably in the play-in tourney, but six games back of the final automatic playoff spot and hardly pushing (3-7 over the last 10). Still, with two wins in the last three there’s a glimmer of hope on a crucial five-game road trip, and it’s a great sign that Paolo Banchero – who has missed over half the season to date – is starting to roll.
On Thursday, he went off for 34 points, 11 rebounds, four three-pointers, four steals and a block. Banchero shot brilliantly and had piled up 24 by halftime; he’s now scored 25 or more in four of the last five games with a combined 10 treys and six steals over the last three.
His touches are actually down this month, but he’s been way more efficient and is finally playing as well as he did at the very start of the season before tearing his oblique. Banchero’s bucket count has risen each season, but he hasn’t shot it as well from deep this season, so it’s great to see that part of his game picking up (44.1 per cent three-point percentage in March).
Coming out of Duke, he had physical strength and brought leadership and other intangibles to the NBA as the ideal four in today’s game. The best part is that Banchero is still just scratching the surface; if he can become a more accurate three-point and/or FT shooter, his game could go to a whole new level.
Can the Bulls Make the Playoffs?
Since winning 46 games and last making the playoffs in 2021-22, it’s been a steady decline for the Chicago Bulls. They dropped to 40 wins, then 39 and just 28 so far this season.
The good news is that things are trending in the right direction. Chicago has won four straight and 6 of 10 to pull within 1.5 games of Miami for ninth in the East. A ticket to the play-in tourney looks assured, but a trip to the real playoffs? That’s a harder sell, with the Bulls currently listed at +520 on FanDuel.
Two years ago, Coby White was still available on the waiver wire, Now, he’s a must-own player and continues to prove why, pouring in 31 points with seven boards, three treys and a steal on Wednesday to key Chicago’s latest win.
White is on fire, scoring at least 21 points in a career-best seven straight (averaging 28.6 over this stretch), with back-to-back games of seven boards and three treys. His touches are way up this month, although his three-point touch has regressed in recent weeks. We love how White is doing more with less this season, playing fewer minutes and getting slightly fewer touches, yet improving his work from both the charity stripe and beyond the arc (volume wise) to up his scoring.
He’s also been money from two-point range, canning 53 per cent of his shots, however his defensive rebounding percentage has dipped the last couple of seasons.
Waiver Wire Pick of the Week
Jared Butler, PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN: 0.9 per cent; CBS: 4 per cent); While Tyrese Maxwell is out, Butler – acquired at the trade deadline — has been showing what he’s capable of. With Quentin Grimes (illness) also out Friday, Butler could be in line for a big game, making him a sneaky DFS play. With an increased role lately, Butler has put together three straight games of at least nine points, six assists and three treys, adding a combined nine boards over the last two and a pair of steals in his most recent game. Improved shooting has led to a higher bucket count this month, and he’s done better work from the line this season. Butler’s PT will decline once Maxey returns, but Philly seems excited about what Butler can do, so is sure to continue to give him a decent look down the stretch to help decide whether or not they want to pick up his option this summer.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
After Vince Clarke bolted, Martin Gore took over as Depeche Mode’s main songwriter starting with the second album in 1982. Here’s another track from the 1985 compilation album Catching Up with Depeche Mode – “Love, in Itself,” originally the second single from its third album, 1983’s Construction Time Again, a track that reached No. 21 on the U.K. Singles Chart.