5 big takeaways from the Orlando Magic’s preseason

Orlando Magic: 5 takeaways from the preseason

Rookies need time

There is understandably a lot of excitement for the Orlando Magic’s future. It still feels like the fan base is buzzing about the selection of Jalen Suggs. It is probably not completely hyperbole to say Jalen Suggs is the best guard prospect the Magic have picked since Anfernee Hardaway in 1993.

With such a young roster and the start of the rebuild, fans are understandably eager to see what their rookies will do. And will undoubtedly nitpick them, especially early on, and think about the players they had wanted in the Draft as they watch them play on other teams.

Those are the kind of expectations put on these young players. Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner will get plenty of opportunity to play for a team like the Magic that is rebuilding and focused on player development. But it does not mean they are going to hit the ground running.

And the preseason showed that both rookies are still going to need some time adjusting to the league. That is expected. But it will require unusual patience from fans to let these young players grow.

Both Suggs and Wagner had solid moments during the preseason. But there were still a lot of holes as they got used to the NBA game. The world still needs to slow down for them.

Suggs averaged just 5.0 points per game and 3.0 assists per game in three preseason games. He shot only 27.3-percent from the floor and 20.0-percent from deep (a 31.8-percent effective field goal percentage).

Suggs still showed plenty to get excited about. His passing remains a really intriguing aspect of his game and he took to the team’s defensive mentality head first. His play where he dove on the floor twice against the San Antonio Spurs to feed a pass to Gary Harris for a layin. That was not his first bell play during the preseason.

No one will question his work ethic. He just has to learn how to pick his spots and where his shots and opportunities are going to come from.

Wagner too showed plenty of potential as a defender. But his numbers did not look so flattering.

Wagner finished the preseason averaging 4.5 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game, shooting a 34.8-percent effective field goal percentage. He looked most uncomfortable as the Magic worked on other things offensively and moved him around. His role in the preseason was not really defined.

Still, Wagner looked better as the preseason went on. Comfort was coming very slowly and he started to find his way especially in the win over the Boston Celtics.

It is still clear to see his potential as a defender where he was really good at closing down passing lanes and shooting into the gap for steals. He will continue to get better as he gets experience.

But it was pretty clear that these rookie players were not quite ready to take over the league or take it by storm in this early part of the year.