Carter reached double digits in rebounds in four of the five games, recording two double-doubles. While he certainly wasn’t elite, the Magic center had a decent finish to his fourth full season with the franchise. Appearing in 68 regular-season games, Carter’s scoring output decreased, but he was more productive in rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. Unfortunately, the starting role has not made WCJ a significant fantasy asset, as he finished the season ranked outside the top-175 in category leagues and outside the top-150 in points leagues. With three guaranteed seasons remaining on his contract, Carter will likely go into training camp locked into the starting center role.

After scoring just four points in Game 1, Carter was more impactful on that end of the floor Wednesday night. He shot 75 percent from the field and made all three of his three-point attempts. The eight rebounds were also solid, but, as was the case in Game 1, Carter did not record any defensive stats. During the regular season, he averaged 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, so that is not a huge surprise. However, given Orlando’s offensive struggles outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Carter’s play and production are critical if the Magic are to have any chance of winning this series. Trailing two games to none, Orlando hosts Game 3 on Friday.

Give Carter credit for his work on the boards and for being Kristaps Porzingis’ primary defender for most of Game 1. However, the offensive production was lackluster, a trend that also persisted during the regular season. Carter’s average of 9.1 per game was the lowest of his NBA career; this was the first season in which he failed to average double figures. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will do most of the heavy lifting offensively, but they’re going to need help in this series. Fellow starters Carter, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (6/4/2/3 with two three-pointers) and Cory Joseph (zero points, two assists) combining to score 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting isn’t good enough. Game 2 is on Wednesday night.