The Magic continue to roll in the preseason, putting in a solid first quarter and continuing to get great games from the auditioning Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris. Orlando took an 11-point lead after the first quarter and opened the team’s lead back up with another impressive defensive performance in the fourth quarter.
Of course, the starters were out by then so do not put too much stock in that.
The Magic improved to 4-1 with a 99-86 win over the Pistons. Still lots to think about though . . .
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Detroit | 87 | 85.9 | 41.3 | 20.5 | 16.3 | 35.0 |
| Orlando | 99 | 94.6 | 51.1 | 25.0 | 19.0 | 6.6 |
A shifting starting lineup
Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris have been the rocks of this lineup so far. Each game, the two players seem to put in a consistent and solid effort. Vucevic scored 18 points and seven rebounds, although he shot 8 for 19 going up against the big front line the Pistons have. Harris scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He has looked aggressive and really very healthy for the first time in a long while.
Vucevic and Harris are probably regular season ready at this point. They have found the groove.
But they have had to do this with a shifting starting lineup around them. And that is to be expected. It is the preseason, after all. Jacque Vaughn wants to try different lineup and see what works and what does not work while also giving guys rest at certain points. Do not put too much stock on who is in the starting lineup.
Channing Frye hinted at media day that the team could look to use favorable matchups in setting its starting lineup. There may not be a set starting lineup each night.
The Magic are already experimenting a bit with Tobias Harris shifting between the four and the three. He still is seeking a true position. He played most of the game against Flamengo at the four against a relatively undersized team — and played really well. Tonight, Kyle O’Quinn scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists at power forward alongside Vucevic and Harris. And Harris still succeeded.
The Pistons have that big lineup and so it made sense to have a big lineup to try and match it.
Obviously, the Magic had a solid start defensively with a 32-21 advantage in the first quarter, a lead only shrunk by D.J. Augustin‘s crazy second quarter. So the shifting lineup continues to produce some results.
And Kyle O’Quinn is hitting 3-pointers, which is just weird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWdBbkNN03s
Free throws?
The Magic are kind of known as a team without someone who can drive to the basket, force offense and get to the foul line. Any success the Magic might be able to find could be dependent on whether they get to the free throw line consistently.
Preseason can be a little different. Teams are still figuring themselves out and so you will see mistakes being made and the game get ugly.
It takes some incredible skill — or incredibly porous defense — for a team to shoot just six free throws. That is exactly how many the Magic had in this preseason game.
Is this a cause for concern? I am not sure. It could just be a strange anomaly. But it does not seem to be a great trend for a team that a lot of people peg to have some trouble offensively.
The Magic committed 24 fouls and gave up 28 free throw attempts to the Pistons. This seems to be more in line with a typical preseason. The Magic have to have a commitment to attacking the basket and getting to the line if they want to have more success in the win column this year.
Otherwise, defense is still strong — Detroit shot 37.5 percent from the floor. The fouls will decrease over time, as will the turnovers (22 total turnovers for 28 Pistons points).
Aaron Gordon continues to learn
The thing that is immediately noticeable in watching Aaron Gordon over the course of his time on the floor is that he gets better and gets a better understanding of how he can be successful each time.
The progress is most demonstrable on the offensive end. His skills are there defensively. Offensively, it sometimes takes him a while to find himself and figure out the best way to attack and contribute. Right now, it looks like Gordon’s best bet is to be a bull around the basket.
And he can do that. He had two powerful jams off of offensive rebounds where he found a way to dig the ball out and finish strong. When he is given space, he knows how to take it up quickly.
Gordon scored 14 points and eight rebounds in another solid performance that fit the performances of recent outings.
It is clear Gordon is gaining more and more confidence on the floor. The compliments of his basketball smarts are not unwarranted. He gets better as the game goes on. This should be an important thing to note in a season where we may look for positives from a raw 19-year-old rookie.