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Locked On Magic: Reviewing Summer League with The Bird Calls

By Philip Rossman-Reich

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 9: Jonathan Isaac #1 of the Orlando Magic looks to pass the ball against the Phoenix Suns during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 9: Jonathan Isaac #1 of the Orlando Magic looks to pass the ball against the Phoenix Suns during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic completed their Summer League seeing a lot of the things they wanted to see from several key players. We review on today’s podcast.

The Orlando Magic went to Las Vegas hoping to see some improved play from Jonathan Isaac and to get a better idea of what they had in rookie Mohamed Bamba. The two players are central to what the Magic want to build this coming season and beyond. These were the foundations for the team’s main roster run.

It is safe to say after five Summer League games, the Magic successfully saw what they wanted from their two key players and saw the beginnings of an identity.

Orlando may have gone just 2-3 in the tournament, losing their last three games and bowing out of the Summer League tournament after one game. But the team also sat its best players for those final two games. Clearly, they had seen enough.

When Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba were on the floor together, they dominated the games. They blocked shots and locked down the paint. No one was scoring on them. And with capable wing defenders in Wesley Iwundu and Melvin Frazier, teams found it frustrating to go up against the Magic.

The highlight of the week came when Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba combined to swat Jaren Jackson Jr.’s shot deep into the backcourt to ignite a fast break.

Again, this is the etchings of a workable identity. This is the beginnings of a team that is committed defensively and a terror teams have to prepare for.

Things were not all great of course. They rarely are. Especially in Summer League when everything is seemingly so haphazard.

The Magic struggled with their offense throughout the entire week.

Isaac shot 35 percent from the floor with his increased offensive role and still has a long way to go on that end. Mohamed Bamba got pushed around in the post by bigger, stronger bigs — specifically Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton. And none of the wings seemed able to hit an outside shot consistently — Isaiah Briscoe showed some promise, but it is too hard to tell what he can bring to the table.

Troy Caupain and Braian Angola-Rojas showed promise. But they are both still works in progress. And the team just did not look cohesive offensively.

That may not have been the goal this Summer League. The real goal for this team most likely was to establish that defensive identity. And build that system for the fall.

We will have to wait and see just how much of it translates. There is plenty of time to improve before then.

With Summer League in the rearview mirror, we wanted to chat with a couple of people who were actually there to catch the little details TV might not have caught about this team and these players.

The Bird Calls hosts Preston Ellis and Oleh Kosel were in Las Vegas covering Summer League last week and got the chance to check out a few of the Magic’s games. They joined Monday’s episode of Locked On Magic to discuss what they saw and their impressions of the team:

On This Episode:

  • The NBA Summer League experience in Las Vegas
  • What stood out about Jonathan Isaac and what he still needs to work on
  • What the Orlando Magic’s goals for Jonathan Isaac were this Summer League
  • The incomplete puzzle for the Orlando Magic
  • How Mohamed Bamba looked and how he silenced some of his doubters
  • What the Orlando Magic saw from Isaiah Briscoe and the team’s other point guards

Be sure to follow Preston Ellis on Twitter @prestonellis and check out his work for The Bird Writes and Orlando Pinstriped Post including their podcast Do You Believe In Magic.

You can follow Oleh Kosel on Twitter @OlehKosel and check out his work covering the New Orleans Pelicans at The Bird Writes.

Next: Melvin Frazier craves defense, but future depends on everything else

Also, subscribe to Orlando Magic Daily’s daily podcast, Locked On Magic, on Panoply, iTunes, Stitcher and TuneIn.