Mohamed Bamba shaky at first, but comfort got clearer

The Orlando Magic saw what they wanted from Mohamed Bamba. He looked comfortable on the floor with flashes of dominance at Summer League.

The court was swaying beneath the players’ feet as light fixtures at the COX Pavilion swayed.

An earthquake centered in California had aftershocks rippling through to Las Vegas giving everyone in the arena a bit of a scare. The games inside the Thomas and Mack Center at NBA Summer League had been stopped and eventually postponed.

As the floor shook, the Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs played on. The officials reported to the NBATV broadcast they could not feel what was going on in the arena around them and so they did not stop the game.

There was no way they did not feel what Mohamed Bamba did to the rim as the first quarter came to an end.

On a pick and roll, Braian Angola-Rodas floated a pass to Mohamed Bamba. He calmly caught the ball and waited for the defense to fly by. He raised for a two-handed rim-rattler as the earthquake effects subsided.

The Magic wanted to see where Bamba was at in Summer League. Friday’s game was Bamba’s first action in a real game since Jan. 31. There was definitely some rust to shake off — not to mention game endurance to build.

But the Magic had to be happy to see what they did from Bamba. He looked like a second-year player against players hanging onto the fringes of the league. Bamba’s impact was noticeable and solid.

He finished 15 with points on 5-for-7 shooting, adding two rebounds in the Magic’s 75-59 win over the Spurs. The game was called after the third quarter as the league sought to assess the building’s safety following the earthquake earlier in the game.

The Magic would not begrudge the game ending. They had used a 20-0 run in the second quarter to build as much as a 29-point lead. That came with a suffocating defense that featured plenty of perimeter switching, an attacking offense and a ton of hot shooting.

The Spurs were slowly inching back as the Magic’s hot shooting faded and the Spurs’ defensive pressure increased.

Bamba did his part to build the lead.

He missed his first shot of the game. But once he saw one go through the hoop — a long jumper over the defense — he started to look a lot more comfortable on offense.

Bamba’s play came in flashes and spurts. He ran the floor for a quick jam on one end. He rolled out to a 3-pointer on another. Bamba more than held his own offensive and looked comfortable moving around.

But there were still a lot of moments where Bamba looked like he was catching up to the speed of the game. How much of that is rust and how much of that is a continuation of what he looked like his rookie year are still up for debate.

Bamba was not a big factor on the boards. He was able to hold his own better on the post and fight for rebounds, but he still struggled to dig them out. His defensive positioning was OK and he was still a bit jumpy going after blocks. He got sucked into the ball on a few occasions and caught out of position to chase blocks.

He did not get one. And he had difficulties getting his hands on the rebounds that were available to him.

Not to mention, Bamba still had the bad habit of keeping his arms at his side as he played drop coverage on pick and rolls.

Some of that may have been fatigue. The Magic had Bamba on a minutes restriction — which he did not reach with the game getting cut short — and he undoubtedly was waiting for his second wind.

It was an overall encouraging game from Bamba. He struggled to read double teams when the Spurs brought pressure. But that is not a major concern at this point and in the role he is expected to fill. Strength and stamina will come the more he plays.

And that is what is important from this game. Merely that Bamba was out there and looked like he belonged again.

He got his work in and played well on the offensive end. The spurts were very good from him. That part is encouraging. The next part is to add the stamina and look more locked in and focused on defense.

For the Magic and Bamba it is about taking the next step.

Friday night saw Bamba take a big first step this Summer League.

Other Summer League Notes

–Erik McCree took a lot of the early headlines, displaying the scoring ability that made him a solid scorer in the G-League and in Italy. McCree scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He had eight points pretty quickly and was not afraid to go after the Spurs’ defense.

What was more impressive was how he started to change things defensively. It took the Magic a while to slow down Lonnie Walker. McCree took on the challenge and started to slow him down, including making a nice block at the rim.

McCree made a good first impression in the game.

–It took a while for the NBATV broadcasters to find his name, but once they did Vic Law made his presence felt in the game. He was good defensively for the most part and fits in nicely with the group.

But the big thing with Law is whether he can shoot the ball consistently. And that is the part that will have to develop as the week goes on. Law finished with six points on 3-for-6 shooting. All three of his misses were from beyond the arc.

—Amile Jefferson continues to do his work for the Magic. He finished with eight points and four rebounds. He did a good job cleaning up around the basket and fighting for rebounds. His moves around the basket were good. But he did get overpowered a bit by bigger players at center.

The Orlando Magic have Saturday off before playing the Denver Nuggets in their second Summer League game in Las Vegas.