Bane explodes for 23 points, igniting a fourth-quarter surge and showing why his relentless energy makes him invaluable, even when numbers don't tell the whole story.
Desmond Bane hasn’t made the impact the Orlando Magic expected from him at the start of the season, but during their 123-110 NBA Cup-opening win against the Boston Celtics, he may have finally broken through or at least showcased just how valuable he can be when everything is clicking.
Bane finished with 23 points while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc, adding seven assists and six rebounds. More importantly, he brought relentless energy diving for loose balls and making key plays in crucial moments. During the postgame press conference, guard Anthony Black described Bane as “a junkyard dog,” to which Bane laughed and Black added, “a junkyard dog with a bag.”
"Huge impact, Black said. “That's just for example, diving on the floor, chasing after loose balls. This is a player who easily could say 'I don't got to do that', one of the best players on the team but we appreciate that. He do a good job setting the tone for us every day in practice and in the game. He's super physical. He like a junkyard dog."
"When your best players are doing that,” Black added. “It's good for the team. It sets a good example. Makes it easy to play hard. When the guy next to you is playing hard, you trust that all five dudes out there are giving it everything they've got. It's good for the team. It's part of our identity."
Bane has opened the season with career lows from three-point range at 30 percent and his second-lowest scoring average in six years. Still, as a veteran adjusting to a new roster, his value extends beyond the box score, something coach Jamahl Mosley emphasized, noting that Bane’s impact goes far deeper than the stat sheet.
“It was good to see everybody chip in and trust each other,” Mosley said. “It didn't matter who had the ball in the end. They were supporting and expressing who had the right matchup, what the right play was. They communicated those things to each other. That's so important that they celebrate each other's success no matter what. Desmond is getting it going, Franz getting going, Paolo making the right play at the right time.”
"What he provides is that experience,” Mosley added. “Those are pieces of what he provides for us this year. The experiences he's been through. He's seen it. He's done it. And these guys trust and rely on what he's capable of doing."
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