Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

3 Up, 3 Down from Orlando Magic’s 2022 preseason

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Bol Bol was one of the big surprises of the Orlando Magic's preseason. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
Bol Bol was one of the big surprises of the Orlando Magic's preseason. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 7
Next
Wendell Carter, Orlando Magic
Wendell Carter had his smarts on display as he and Franz Wagner buried the Memphis Grizzlies in Tuesday’s Orlando Magic win. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /

3 up, 3 down from Orlando Magic’s preseason

3 Down: Slow Starts

Preseason is largely meaningless with stats. It is hard to know what is important and what is not. Teams are working on different things and those goals may not match up with what the other team is doing. This is the time to look at experiments and trash the failed ones. The results of the game do not matter.

There is one area to present some pause for the Orlando Magic, although it looked pretty resolved by the time the team returned home for its two preseason games.

The only moment in any preseason game where the two teams are guaranteed to play their key players seems to be at the start. And this was at least a small point of consistent struggle for the Magic throughout the five-game run.

Overall, Orlando had a net rating of -15.7 points per 100 possessions in the first quarter of preseason games, 28th in the league. They had the worst first-quarter scoring mark at 88.2 points per 100 possessions.

There are plenty of reasons for this that could easily explain it.

The Magic used a different starting lineup in all five games of the preseason. Orlando has not settled on a starting group yet.

The small sample size of five games means outliers weigh heavily. And poor first quarters in three games — the first three games at that — hang pretty hard on this team.

That is where there is good news.

Against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, the Orlando Magic posted an offensive rating of 124.0 points per 100 possessions in the first quarter. That is about as perfect as the offense can be. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team posted an offensive rating of 104.0 points per 100 possessions.

The Magic are still going to be challenged offensively. And while this team is able to rally and play well to get back into games. That is not a way to survive.

Orlando Magic waive Devin Cannady to set opening roster. dark. Next

Once the Magic’s rotation settles down, they should be able to find their groove. But it will be important to get off to good starts and make sure they are not having to climb out of deep holes early. That is how teams get buried.