Orlando Magic satisfied with the week, but still hungry to win
The Orlando Magic will leave Summer League satisfied with the work individuals put in and the improvements made. But the pressure to win looms in 2016.
The Orlando Magic’s Summer League virtually came to an end Wednesday afternoon when the team let word out Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja were done for the final two games.
In the three games they played, they showed they were looking to do and accomplishing different things. In the end though, one thing seemed to stick out.
When Mario Hezonja was asked which highlight generated more attention, he did not refer to tweets or texts, he looked to the final result. His game-winning 3-pointer mattered more to him than his thunderous dunk that sent basketball Twitter ablaze. And that was simply because his team won.
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Even Scott Skiles had to joke that the Magic’s supposed “B” squad was playing better than the Blue team full of the roster players.
“Aaron had a good week obviously,” Magic coach Scott Skiles said. “Mario got to get his feet wet and get into NBA-type competition. Bill [Davidson]’s team has played better than our team. Some of those guys have actually played together. Guys are getting used to the staff and the things we expect. It has been a good week so far, hopefully we finish up well tomorrow.”
The struggles on the court continued for the Magic Blue team despite playing one of their better all around games. They shot 48.5 percent from the floor and 9 for 21 from beyond the arc. They moved the ball more consistently than they had before and committed just 13 turnovers.
Indiana’s ability to to get to the foul line — 33 free throws — and timely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter — 14 for 28 from beyond the arc and 32 points in the fourth quarter — helped Indiana secure the 91-85 victory.
For the first time all week, the Magic’s defense was not exactly on point.
But it did come with a strong offensive performance from Devyn Marble — 22 points on 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc — and Tyler Harvey — 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting and five assists. Both broke out of cold snaps from throughout the week with the ball in their hands more.
It was good for both to show some offensive and defensive confidence in larger roles before the week ran out.
“Every day, it’s a learning experience,” Harvey said. “We battle every day in practice. Gametime is a time to show what we have been learning. My shot always feels good. We had a great game today, but we didn’t win. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
The Magic’s struggles at 1-3 was certainly a surprise. But the win-loss record does not matter much until the games start counting in October and November. The slow and steady progress the Magic’s key players showed will be the takeaway from the games.
The week will be marked by the impressive performance and improvement shown from Aaron Gordon. He finished averaging 21.7 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game. He was confident dribbling into the paint and looking for his shot. He was pulling up and attacking aggressively.
Skiles said he noticed Gordon was seeing the game slow down especially at the beginning of games, helping him get into a good rhythm.
Gordon was likely the best overall player at the Orlando Summer League. The question is how it will translate to the next step — the regular season and games that count and matter.
“Individually, I’m very happy with the amount of work that has shown through my game,” Gordon said. “But we lost too many games here. That’s really what it comes down to. I’m just looking to improve and to get better and to come back ready for training camp.”
The record was the common refrain from everyone as the Magic introduced their newest player and looked farther ahead than the meaningless Summer League games.
This is a team knowing it has to turn the corner and take the steps necessary to do so. Scott Skiles said when he was introduced the goal was to get 41 wins — a winning record and not just a Playoff berth — and no one seemed ready to back off that as the roster players prepare to depart Summer League and await the long two months before training camp opens.
In Summer League, the wins may not be that important.
But coming out of the week, the feeling is that the time has come for it to matter very very soon.
“Everybody is talking about this is the year we need to make the Playoffs,” Elfrid Payton said. “I think that’s everyone’s mindset. I’m excited.”