The Orlando Magic put in a lot of work the last month during the preseason. Now with the season set to begin, it is about putting that work to the test.
The Orlando Magic had a lot of learning to do when they opened training camp on Sept. 26.
It was a new offense and a new defense with a new coaching staff. There were new expectations and new consequences for failing to meet those expectations.
No one expected the Magic to have everything down pat before the preseason ended. There is still a lot of work to do.
One thing was clear through the entire preseason, Orlando got better. Things became more natural and the team became slowly sharper. That was shown as the Magic put themselves in a position to win. It was finally the tangible on-court reward for a month’s hard work.
“Except for the first practice in Rio, which was not a very good practice, we’ve been an excellent practice team,” Scott Skiles said before Friday’s preseason finale against Memphis. “Guys have worked really had and played really hard in practice. We’ve had good attention to detail. Our defense has gotten better. They are trying to move the ball offensively instead of dribbling so much.”
It is quite a different mindset. So many things have changed with this team that some reversion to bad habits has occasionally occurred. It may still take some time to break those.
The Magic have generally begun committing themselves to the principles Skiles is preaching. They have generally moved the ball and defended well through the preseason with lapses for stretches of games — both big and small. The team has played with energy during the good stretches and struggled to pick themselves back up on the bad.
Tobias Harris said the biggest strides certainly came on the defensive end and buying into the team’s new system and plays. The concerted effort to have all of this sink in has been there.
“I think we made some great strides throughout preseason,” Tobias Harris said. “Everybody is buying into the system. I think the biggest thing for us is the defensive end of the game. I think we are doing a better job each and every game and every practice working on all those habits and making it a strong point for us. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us going forward.”
The Magic defense was solid in the preseason, posting a 95.9 defensive rating — 12th in the league. These are preseason stats, so take them with an extreme grain of salt. Orlando finished last preseason with a 94.3 defensive rating, sixth in the league. So those numbers mean very little.
Still, the Magic liked what they saw defensively in a lot of ways. There was definitely more defensive cohesion and a new mentality that has begun to set in.
“We still have a ways to go with just understanding and truly not thinking about it,” Channing Frye said. “I think we’re still thinking about where we should be. The effort is still there. It’s getting a lot better. I think it has taken a lot of pressure off the guards just knowing there is people behind them. It has been fun. It has been a lot of work, it’s tiring, but I am seeing a lot of progress.”
Making the strategy second nature is still one of the big things the Magic have to work on. That will come with more practice.
The team feels very comfortable with the direction they are headed and the work they have put in the last month. The preseason had its ups and downs and lessons that needed to be learned.
Of course, the players believe this is the season to turn things around. Frye said he sees light at the end of the tunnel with this team. But the team is not all the way there either.
The preseason showed more than anything how good this team can be with those good moments and that things have not sunk in quite yet. Even into the last preseason game, Scott Skiles noted the team still has lulls where it needs a pick-me-up or the intensity wanes.
That is something the team will have to continue to guard against as the season begins and games begin to count. Perhaps the urgency of games actually counting will push the team to a heightened focus. The preseason is too long after all.
There was a lot of hard work put in during the preseason. That work has to begin translating to games. And the first thing they have to figure out is who will start that opening game Wednesday night.
“To sum it all up, the biggest positive is their willingness with the new coaching staff, to change some of the way that they have played,” Skiles said. “We know long term it is going to pay off for us. I’m hoping for their sake because they’ve made such a nice commitment that it pays off sooner rather than later so they can feel some success.”
The work that has been put in will get tested with the season starting. The last month though has been a productive one.