The NBA Cup is there.

And no one still really knows what to make of this NBA regular season tournament experiment. Is it just an afterthought to the NBA season and aren’t the games much more important than their value to the NBA regular season? Do these games provide young teams with actual playoff and pressure play practice? Does the cup winner mean anything?

The answer to those questions is: . . insecure.

It may still feel like a different game to the players. The NBA Cup hasn’t quite taken precedence and importance in the big picture of the season. Everyone is still trying to figure out what makes these games more important.

The NBA Cup still feels a bit manufactured in its early incarnations. No one can deny that.

“It’s fun for the fans. I love it,” Moe Wagner said after Sunday’s win over the Washington Wizards. “It obviously makes money, so as a player I’m excited about that. To be honest, it does make you a bit more excited because the fans are more excited, the field is different. Every time something changes, you get a little more excited about it. Let’s be honest: it doesn’t change anything from day to day.”

That’s probably correct. Players are not as interested in the results of these games when it comes to the bigger tournament. At least, not until the end, when the chance to win something is clearly in sight.

After all, it was Wagner who, after the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics on Black Friday last year, asked to sit first in the group heading into the final day of group play which the team needed to advance . The Magic PR rep needed a calculator to give him an answer (we had that too in the media and math is hard).

Still, because of the stakes and hype surrounding that last game in particular, it felt like last year’s Magic team got something out of that experience. It felt like a launching pad for the rest of their season.

The question is whether the team can win something again in the tournament this year.

Before the season, we considered the Orlando Magic bracket to be a particularly tough bracket, with two potential title contenders, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, heavily favored to win the bracket. It felt like an opportunity for the Magic to prove themselves in high-profile games, especially the nationally televised finals in New York on Dec. 3.

Paolo Banchero’s injury changed everything for this team. It took the Magic a week to regain their footing.

The team doesn’t have the luxury of worrying or focusing on trying to advance to the Knockout Round or going to Las Vegas to win the whole thing. They need to steady the boat for the bigger picture of their playoff pursuit.

But that in itself is a reason why these games are important.

Now that the Magic have found some stability, they need a test to show they can still compete. More than competing, they need a test to show they can still win and do more than just steady the boat until Banchero’s return.

The NBA Cup – starting with Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets – is a chance to prove himself again.

The good news for the Magic is that the Eastern Conference hasn’t run away from them. Going into Tuesday’s game, the Magic are 5-6 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Only two teams have records better than .500.

That speaks to the opportunity that still lies ahead of this team. Despite Banchero’s injury, the Magic are still in a position to take control of their main goal: gaining home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Until then, Friday’s games against the Philadelphia 76ers (2-7, 12th in the East) and that finale against the New York Knicks (4-5, 6th in the East) could be crucial in gaining separation from the preseason favorites. to clinch play-off spots.

On paper, at least, the Magic’s game against the Indiana Pacers (5-5, 3rd in the East) on Wednesday outside the NBA Cup could be just as important: the Magic and Pacers split their first two meetings and won’t play a fourth. match until the penultimate match of the season.

But as things stand, the Orlando Magic also have to compete against the other teams in their NBA Cup bracket. The Charlotte Hornets are 4-6 and eighth in the East and the Brooklyn Nets are 5-6 and fifth in the East (tied with the Magic).

Orlando can’t afford to overlook teams.

That goes doubly because the Magic are still figuring themselves out even without Banchero.

The Magic are much more focused on themselves than anyone else. And they still have to prove themselves against quality competition, struggling to compete with some tough players in the Western Conference.

When Banchero suffered his injury, the general thinking was that Orlando should stay in the race. The hope was that the team could maintain the playoff race and then rise in the standings when he returned and got back up to speed.

With the way the East is breaking through, the Magic should see this as an opportunity to stay ahead.

Right now, Orlando needs the confidence to compete and the belief that they can still beat the best teams in the league. This entire period is a test of the team’s culture and resolve to play without its best player.

These NBA Cup games and the month ahead – including a very difficult stretch in December – will prepare the Magic for what they can do in the spring. This is a period they need to be successful.

The NBA Cup games are again a good testing ground.

Last year, the Orlando Magic used the NBA’s In-Season Tournament as a launching pad for their season, even with the injuries the team faced with Wendell Carter and Markelle Fultz out.

The young team started its nine-game win streak in the In-Season Tournament victory against the Chicago Bulls (the second win in that streak). The streak included the signature win over the Celtics on Black Friday.

They did not reach the knockout round. But the point was made. The team gained confidence for the rest of the season.

Winning the In-Season Tournament may have been unimportant in the end — after all, the Los Angeles Lakers prevailed last year and finished seventh in the West — but it was important to the team. They could see it as a point in the season where they gained belief in their potential and felt a little winning pressure for the first time.

Orlando got a lot of that last year, even though the team didn’t advance from the knockout round. One of the team’s ultimate lessons at that point was that every game matters and a 20-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets to open the tournament cost the Orlando Magic that chance to advance.

Every game is important.

This year’s team is a different team. The Magic made the playoffs last year and are playing with a new level of poise and composure.

Orlando doesn’t need the ‘playoff training’ like last year. But they can still get something out of these games.

What the Magic then have to prove is that they can compete and win without Banchero. And while they don’t need the playoff experience anymore – and perhaps their group is a different challenge than we expected in August – they need the confidence to compete against quality teams again.

They have to feel that winning pressure, overcome it and succeed.

The Magic don’t have to advance in the NBA Cup to consider it a success. But they have to compete and prove that their team can compete over the next month and a half and do more than steady the boat without Banchero.

In any case, these games are important for that.