7 out of 9! Eastern Curry goes wild! NBA poised for a Black Eight miracle

Pistons vs Magic......

Stewart strikes Suggs in the face, called for a Flagrant 1 foul.

Ausar Thompson pursues on defense, hits Blake directly on the head, called for a Flagrant 1 foul.

The offense of these two teams may not look fluid, but the defensive intensity is truly flesh-to-flesh, thrilling to watch and making the wrench in hand crave action.

Speaking of which, the Pistons' regular-season Eastern Conference championship this season seems somewhat hollow, as they are struggling against the eighth-seeded Magic.In Game 3, they lost again 105-113, now trailing 1-2 in the series.

It's not just possible, it's highly likely we'll see a Black Eight miracle emerge in this year's playoffs.

Game stats for the Magic:

Bane, acquired in a 7-for-1 trade last offseason, transformed into Eastern Curry, shooting 7/9 from three for 25 points plus 7 rebounds; 2022 top pick Banchero, despite poor shooting efficiency, hit the crucial game-sealing three-pointer, finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks on 6/17 shooting.

Pistons stats:

2021 top pick Cunningham shot 8/23 for 27 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, but also had 9 turnovers; interior core Duren shot 3/10, only managing 8 points and 9 rebounds for a near double-double, with the sole highlight being 5 blocks.

Duren, the 13th pick in the 2022 first round, is a 2.08m center with a 2.26m wingspan, dubbed "Little Beast," yet his playoff performance so far has been disappointing. In the past two games, he posted 8 points, 7 rebounds and 11 points, 9 rebounds, seemingly completely lost.

If Duren continues to sleepwalk through the remaining playoffs, he will likely struggle to secure the Pistons' five-year, $210 million max extension this summer, despite his impressive regular season stats (19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2 apg, 65% FG).

Dominant in the regular season, timid in the playoffs—no team favors such a player, nor will he become a true core member.