Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I looked again Garrett Wilson’s touchdown catch all morning and I have no intention of stopping.

In today’s SI:AM:

😔 A significant NBA injury

⚔️ The military’s return to relevance

One of the NBA’s most promising teams suffered a major blow Thursday when it announced its star player will be out for at least a month.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was diagnosed with a torn oblique muscle, the team said will be sidelined indefinitely. He will be reevaluated in four to six weeks.

It’s a tough break for a team that entered the year hoping to build on a breakout 2023-2024 season that saw it post its first winning record in five years before falling in the first round of the playoffs in seven games lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Banchero was undoubtedly the biggest reason behind the team’s success. After winning the Rookie of the Year award in ’22-23, he was named an All-Star in his second season while leading the Magic in scoring, rebounding and assists. And in just five games this season, he has already proven he has staying power as one of the game’s top young stars. On Monday, the 22-year-old had 50 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in a four-point win over the Indiana Pacers, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to drop 50 points and the second-youngest player in franchise history the NBA requires a minimum of 50 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game.

Banchero was among the most durable players in the league in his first two seasons. He played 72 games as a rookie and was one of 29 players to play at least 80 games last year while ranking fifth in the league in minutes played.

The loss of Banchero is a serious setback for a team that looked ready to take another step forward this season. Banchero and Franz Wagner form a top-notch offensive duo, and Jalen Suggs is one of the best defensive guards in the league in addition to being a solid three-point shooter. The trio forms an impressive young core that should keep the Magic relevant for years to come. (At 23, Suggs is the oldest of the three.) And Orlando has made some moves this season to keep several key players in place, re-signing Moritz Wagner, Gary Harris and Goga Bitadze.

The biggest move the Magic made, however, was signing veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year contract worth $66 million. Not only is Caldwell-Pope a dangerous three-point shooter and a talented perimeter defender, he gives the Magic something last season’s roster sorely lacked: championship experience. No team in the 2024 playoff field had less postseason experience (as measured by cumulative career playoff games) than the Magic.

Before last season, only four Orlando players had appeared in a postseason game: Harris, Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz and Joe Ingles. They had played a total of 91 playoff games before last season (50 of them by Ingles, who is no longer with the team). Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, has played in 62 career playoff games and won two championships (in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers and ’23 with the Denver Nuggets).

The signing of Caldwell-Pope was a signal that the Magic were ready to enter the upper tier of the Eastern Conference. This was not only a promising young team full of blossoming stars, but also an experienced squad ready to be considered a real contender.

Banchero’s injury throws a spanner in the works of those plans. Even if he misses the four-week minimum the team mentioned in the announcement, that’s still 15 games. A six-week absence would mean missing 21 games – a quarter of the season. The relatively new playoff format – which offers opportunities for teams ranked 10th in the standings to qualify for the playoffs via the play-in tournament – ​​provides a cushion for Orlando, but a team that Finishing fifth in the conference last year would be disappointed that his fate was determined by the play-in crapshoot. The Magic will have to find a way to replace Banchero’s versatile production. Otherwise, his injury could mean Orlando will have to wait another year to realize his full potential.

…things I saw last night:

5. Kyrie Irving’s fadeaway buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter.

4. Ja Morant’s alley while sitting on the floor.

3. The fight between Vasily Podkolzin of the Oilers and Jeremy Lauzon of the Predators that ended with three vicious punches from Podkolzin.

2. Southern Nazarenes game winning tight end screen to defeat Ouachita Baptist. Southern Nazarene came into the game 0-8 and headed to Ouachita Baptist, the No. 3 team in Division II, and came away with an 18-17 victory.

1. Garrett Wilsons one-handed touchdown grab. His full extension was very reminiscent of another famous catch at MetLife Stadium.