Magic hold on for win, learn a lot more

The biggest learning experience for the Magic in their first preseason game did not come in giving up a seven-point lead with three minutes to play. It did not come from Andrew Nicholson cutting baseline and popping open for a 15-foot jumper to send the game to overtime. Nor did it come from the Magic racing out to a seven-point lead behind Devyn Marble’s strong performance in overtime.

All that was part of the learning process. The Magic have to start winning at some point. Nights like these are experiences the team has to reach back to and learn from.

That is not what this point of the season is about. The fact the Magic won a game in Miami over the Heat 108-101 on Tuesday night is not the most important thing to come out of this game. Far from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naXlGhJ9Wes

What was most important is whether the Magic are heading in the right direction. It was important to see what Jacque Vaughn had in his team and where the team is at after one week in training camp.

So where are they?

Tobias Harris was an efficient scorer, working to find his jumper and spotting up from beyond the arc. He had 15 points and seven rebounds.

Nikola Vucevic is a calm post player and a rock offensively. He abused Chris Bosh and and the Heat’s pick-and-roll defense for 16 points and six rebounds.

The Magic’s offense moves the ball well and cuts off the ball well when the space presents itself. At least it does in this early stage.

Elfrid Payton is adept at getting the ball up the floor in the open court and has great vision. His offense needs to come along still, but he is an able and willing passer, already doing a good job creating for his teammates and running an offense. Payton had four points and seven assists, making just one of his eight shots.

The defense is going to be very tough to crack when Payton and Oladipo get going. The Magic are still learning where they need to be and rotations still need to get set, but they showed they have the athletic ability and capabilities to be the defensive team everyone seems to imagine.

Aaron Gordon is still a work in progress, but had plenty of energy and plenty of belief in his skills. That resilience will come in handy when things get real and he finds the defense a little tighter. He is not going to be down about any struggles he has. But he still has a long way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IVLO83j4dc

So do the rest of the Magic. This was not a perfect performance, nor could anyone expect it to be.

Was it good for the first preseason game?

Certainly there was evidence that it was. The Magic seemed to have the right ideas on defense and played really well in stretches. This was a close game throughout. Seven was the Magic’s biggest lead in the game, held maybe once or twice before the final margin.

The starters held their own against the Heat’s starters. Dwyane Wade started finding himself offensively. Luol Deng was solid for the Heat. And Chris Bosh hit some contested jumpers but was largely kept under control. The Heat caught the Magic looking a few times or sinking in a few times. Part of the learning process for this defense.

The Magic took control when Payton and Kyle O’Quinn stepped into the game. The Magic’s bench took control of the game and kept the intensity up. This was a good sign.

The specific statistics are probably not as important. Miami ended up shooting 39.4 percent from the floor 5 for 32 from beyond the arc. The Magic did not force a ton of turnovers — just nine for the game — nor did they commit very many — 16, for the first preseason game is not awful.

It was clear Orlando was still learning some basic concepts and working things out.

That was all the team needed to learn at this point. There was the general feeling, however, that the Magic were right on track. Players played hard, played well. For the first preseason game, at least.

The final result did not matter. At least, not the score. Although that was nice.

What mattered was that there is still plenty to work on, but clearly plenty to build off of too.