Magic working to shrink the learning curve in win over Flamengo

Elfrid Payton was pushed, prodded and examined heavily in his first home preseason game.

A little adversity is not going to do the rookie any wrong. It will certainly help the Magic as any adversity and challenge in the preseason would.

Payton though has been the rookie living a bit of a charmed life. Columnists and fans already want the rookie starting after strong performances in his first three preseason games — 8.7 points per game, 5.7 assists per game and 4.3 rebounds per game in his first three preseason games. There is already a lot of hope invested in this kid.

There will also be growing pains. Not even the wunderkind is immune to the fact of being a rookie.

Flamengo put the pressure on the Magic, employing a full court press that the rookie or the team is not likely to see in the NBA. Still, it was good to see the Magic operate maybe a little quicker than they wanted to or under a little bit of duress. The result of the game may not have been in question, but it revealed where Payton and the Magic are at.

Payton was not the same stellar guard that played so well on the road — spread by word of mouth and a few illegal streams. He still had his moments, but still showed that he is a rookie with a learning curve to go. Payton had an underwhelming four points to go with six turnovers. He still managed a few steals and five assists as Flamengo seemed intent on pressuring the rookie.

Payton took notice and did his best to even the score and still contribute.

“It’s on me to speed that [learning] curve up,” Elfrid Payton said. “The faster I get it, the better we will be. I missed a lot of guys tonight. I got to get the ball there, that’s my job.”

Jacque Vaughn probably remembers that feeling of being a rookie in this league. He said Payton is going to face guys that are bigger and stronger than him at the professional level. Flamengo made sure to test every experience Payton had and give him a few new ones. Each turnover, Vaughn said is another learning experience and something for Payton to review and grow from in film study the next day.

There will still be a bit of that after the Magic finally disposed of Flamengo 106 -88 on Wednesday night at Amway Center.

Flamengo never really threatened the league. A barrage of 3-pointers, particularly from star Marcelinho Machado (6 for 12 from beyond the arc), got Flamengo within four points near the end of the half. Otherwise, the Magic were able to control the pace, break the pressure relatively quickly and attack the basket. The lead fluctuated above 10 points and never broke through into the 20s until the fourth quarter.

Orlando had a 22-6 advantage in points in the paint after one quarter and finished with a 56-38 advantage there for the game. The team fed Nikola Vucevic whenever it needed a basket as he went on to score 20 points and grab 11 rebounds. Both Vucevic and Tobias Harris (14 points, 5-for-9 shooting) continued to look settled and prepared for the games to count.

“I feel pretty good right now,” Vucevic said. “Every game I try to play better and get in better game shape so I can be ready come the season. I like where I’m at. I just want to keep working so in two weeks, I’m ready to go.”

The rest of the team had some unevenness.

As noted, Flamengo got a ton of 3-pointers and it was their best weapon to stay in the game. Fortunately for the Magic, they were not able to hit many. Flamengo made just 9 of 31 3-point attempts with Machado hitting six of those. Flamengo moved the ball beautifully and the Magic were sometimes a bit late rotating out. The shots just would not fall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAfLYTYSNV8

The defense was overall fine — giving up 40.2 percent shooting and 17 free throws while forcing 21 turnovers — but there was certainly plenty to review and look at moving forward. Vaughn pointed out the 3-point attempts given up and the transition opportunities (15 fast break points on 5-for-8 shooting, for what that stat is worth) the team gave up that will need some reviewing tomorrow.

“Overall to be close to 40 percent again tonight is a good sign for us,” Vaughn said. “These are areas that we can clean up. The overall foundation of what we are right now: not bad.”

Not bad for the fourth preseason game is probably OK.

This was a typical sloppy preseason game with the Magic committing 23 turnovers themselves. They shot 53.8 percent and worked for good shots, especially getting in the paint.

The cliche with this team is going to be about their work ethic and hard work. Aaron Gordon seemed to be emblematic of that the most. He was active around the basket and finished the game off with a vicious dunk over a Flamengo guard. That got Magic fans excited. Probably as much as Gordon’s block on Walter Hermann as Flamengo tried to test the rookie.

These games, at this point, are all just a test. A test of how much the team can learn and improve as the season inches ever closer.

Payton and the Magic will get right back to work on it Thursday in practice before back-to-back games this weekend. There remains an eagerness to reduce that learning curve down.