Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 94, Cleveland Cavaliers 85
The Orlando Magic got their season off on the right foot showing glimpses of their potential and taking care of business against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
38. Final. 85. 156. 94
The first game for the Orlando Magic was full of sequences of brilliance.
None seemed to bring the stadium to its feet quite like Markelle Fultz. A summer of anticipation to see what the former top overall pick could do when he finally stepped onto the court came bubbling over in the fourth quarter.
Aaron Gordon blocked a Collin Sexton 3-point attempt and the ball trickled to Nikola Vucevic. He sheepishly passed the ball to Markelle Fultz as the team looked already to be running out the clock.
That is when Fultz accelerated, driving all the way to the basket and slamming home a vicious one-handed jam that sent the Amway Center into hysterics. The building was alive.
It felt like that with every move Fultz made as the Magic made their first impression on the season.
The way he weaved through the defense to finish at the rim — including a smoothe reverse shortly after that dunk. Or the way he weaved through the passing lane to find Mohamed Bamba or Nikola Vucevic for assists.
Even his misses had everyone collecting their breath. He did take a few threes. Fans were ready to burst if he had made those. And they were never bad shots. The defense dared him to take it and Fultz, at least, had the confidence to fire.
Fultz would garner a lot of attention because so much of what he did worked. It was all a flash of the immense talent he has.
So too was the rest of the game as the Orlando Magic won 94-85 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A lot of the problems coach Steve Clifford worried about before the game popped up — the team gave up 10 offensive rebounds but just seven second-chance points and had 13 turnovers leading to 11 points. Against a better team, the Magic might have been in trouble.
So too would have been the way the Magic gave up their lead, as much as 20 points in the game and 15 in the late moments before a couple of late threes got the Cavaliers within six. It was the first game and it looked like it for many of the players.
But the Magic certainly will not complain too much about their defense — the Cavaliers shot 37.1 percent from the floor overall and had 16 turnovers themselves — and know their offense still needs some work. A lot of things still need some work.
But it is much better to do that from a win. A win that saw a lot of pieces come together. Most of all, the Magic’s promising young acquisition.
He certainly made an emphatic statement.
Markelle Fultz has a gravity about him that goes beyond the way fans feel the need to talk about him. In fact, it is his play that demands so much talk. He can do so many positive things on the floor, it is hard to look away from him. The impact is undeniable.<p>Fultz cameout attacking the rim, making his first three shots including a 15-foot jumper. That helped him get on his way to 12 points off the bench, making 6 of 12 shots overall (missing three 3-pointers, but he did not hesitate to take them). He added six assists.</p><p>It is that passing that stood out as much as anything else. He had a nice lob to Mohamed Bamba and then a no-look pass to him for a finish. He found passing angles where there seemingly were none. That is the big advantage with him. And that much was abundantly clear.</p>. PG. Orlando Magic. MARKELLE FULTZ. A-
There is something very comforting about Nikola Vucevic and the way he plays. He can accumulate a lot of points without seemingly doing a lot. The Orlando Magic are not always running plays for him or looking to get him shots, but he can find his way into gaps and hit.<p>Vucevic had a workmanlike 21 points, a team high, and nine rebounds. He got open on pick and rolls and just worked his game to make 8 of 16 shots. It was clear he is still getting back his touch, missing a few shots around the rim, but it was hard to think anything more than Vucevic was available for players to find him and score.</p><p>Defensively, Vucevic was solid if unremarkable. He lost contact a few times with <a href=. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. B
C+. <a href=. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
B. A key to the game for the Orlando Magic might have been their big free agent acquisition, <a href=. F. Orlando Magic. AL-FAROUQ AMINU
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. C+. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that needs a lot of work. Their two young guards are certainly still in their development phase and they showed that throughout the game. <a rel=. 0-1. 5th East
Next. 5 bold predictions for the 2020 season. dark
The Orlando Magic next begin a two-game road trip starting Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks.