Paolo Banchero’s Orlando Magic debut more a feeling out

Paolo Banchero made sure the world knew he was there on the first play of his first preseason game.

Ja Morant took a handoff on a curl that took him deep into the teeth of the Magic’s defense. Wendell Carter met him and deflected a kick-out pass out of the paint. Banchero read it quickly, darting in for the steal and starting a fast break that ended with him making a layup over Dillon Brooks.

In that play was everything the Magic could imagine for their top overall pick.

He showed the deftness and awareness to be disruptive on the perimeter then the speed to get down the court and the size and strength to finish through contact.

When Orlando envisions their size causing problems for teams on both ends, this is exactly what they are thinking. This is exactly who the Magic expect Banchero to become.

Paolo Banchero showed some hints of the player he will become. But his Orlando Magic preseason debut was a mixed bag as he felt his way through his first game.

The moments like this were not plentiful in a 109-97 preseason loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But they were not completely rare. It was part of the mixed bag of a first preseason game. One where the Magic saw some things to get excited about and plenty the team still needs to work on.

That goes for the Magic’s top pick too.

Banchero had his struggles scoring eight points, shooting 2 for 9 from the floor and turning it over four times.

Banchero looked nervous and a bit apprehensive but was still willing to be aggressive in his first game. There was a lot the Magic seemed a bit unsure about and Banchero was emblematic of a lot of that.

Banchero said after the game he has to get used to making reads out of the pick and roll and he felt his reads were slower than he would have liked in screen and rolls. That was certainly at play. The Magic were a bit disjointed and disconnected as they still try to play some catch-up in training camp and went through their first preseason game.

Turnovers like this one are expected:

Banchero had a few of these where his passes were just imprecise. Here he takes a handoff into a pick and roll with Mo Bamba. He drives to the free throw line and draws three players to him before firing a pass with too much gusto toward Bamba.

He made the right read and just sent the wrong pass to Bamba for him to corral and get a basket. That is the kind of play that will come in time as players gain more chemistry and comfort on the floor.

Banchero is getting afforded the opportunity to experiment and learn how to use space and that was certainly where many of his mistakes came, whether that was a wrap-around pass under the basket that got easily intercepted or a shot that Banchero just stepped into and took too quickly or failed to get all the way to the basket or kick to the weak side.

This preseason needs to be about learning NBA spacing and feeling how defenses will react to him. And that is where Banchero likely struggled most in his first outing.

The Magic largely avoided straight post-ups or putting the ball in the pinch post as they did during Summer League. The focus offensively in Monday’s game seemed to be on running 5-out sets almost exclusively.

This is the area where the Magic struggled most. They settled a lot for 3-pointers, taking 54 in the game compared to just 24 attempts in the paint (where they made only 11). Orlando struggled to get into the paint consistently and that bogged down the offense.

It forced Banchero into a lot of plays like the one above. He activates a pick and roll, but the spacing on the floor is poor with three defenders blocking the way to the basket. Banchero settles for the quick jumper rather than swinging the ball back to the weak side to try to take advantage of the imbalance.

There were just a lot of points where Banchero got himself stuck against a good defense and did not quite know how to get himself out. Things were just moving too quickly for him.

But on that point too, the Magic put the ball in Banchero’s hands and trusted him to be a playmaker.

Being a rookie playing his first game he obviously made some mistakes and some poor reads. His lone assist was a simple pass from the top of the key to Cole Anthony for a 3-pointer. There was nothing special about it.

The Grizzlies put a lot of pressure on him and tested him. The Magic were disjointed and that made things only look worse.

The hope is that he will improve as he gets more comfortable and as the team comes together more.

As with all things in the preseason, there were bright spots. And Banchero showed plenty of signs that he will be more than fine, especially as the Magic layer more onto the offense.

None bigger than his end-of-the-second-quarter dunk:

This is what the Magic should have done the whole time. Orlando spaces the floor and gives Banchero the room to attack. He drives away from the help at the free throw line and then powers through for a two-handed jam.

This was the highlight of the night for Banchero and the one time that he seemed to increase his aggression and find space to attack. He has that in him — whether that was the initial play for the steal and layup or knocking the ball off Steven Adams in a first-quarter possession.

Banchero had these pockets and moments of good play. But there was a lot to continue to work on. That is the same for the entire team.

Like so much the Magic were trying to feel things out. Banchero certainly was feeling things out and getting an understanding of what NBA basketball will be like.

This is just the first step.