The Toronto Raptors made it clear from the first possession of their Summer League game with the Orlando Magic that they were going to be in for a battle.
Second-year guard Jamal Shead got into rookie Jase Richardson's body, not letting him get anywhere he wanted. It gummed up the entire Magic offense and made for a messy possession.
The ball eventually squirted to Noah Penda. He quickly drove the lane and threw up a wild shot at the rim that fell into the hoop.
That possession will be recorded as a success for the two points. But it was a preview for the issues the Magic had throughout their 89-86 loss against the Raptors in their second Summer League game.
"They came out and they were more physical than us," Richardson said after Sunday's game. "They kind of outworked us at the end. In the end, it was a super competitive game and super physical game. That's what we live for."
This was a game that was full of turnovers -- sometimes in the most Summer League way possible -- and full of a lot of frustration as the Magic's guard tried to swat away the Raptors' ball pressure. Orlando had to find a way to relieve that pressure.
The excessive pressure might be a creature of Summer League itself. The Raptors directed their players to go all out with pressure and overplaying driving lanes to set a tone of intensity, no matter how many fouls it leads to.
But this version of the Magic features the same weakness as the main roster will: They lack a true veteran point guard to calm them down. And in the moments when the Magic were facing the most pressure, that lack of organization and ball-handling confidence was clearest.
Is this a preview of what could happen in the regular season as teams do use more full-court pressure and trapping schemes to try to condense the space of modern offenses?
How the Magic handled the pressure
The game was a mixed bag with how the Orlando Magic handled the pressure from the Toronto Raptors.
Orlando got past it and made 3-pointers early in the game to take the lead. But the turnovers and steals piled up throughout the game.
Toronto forced 29 turnovers and recorded 16 steals. The Raptors scored 44 points off turnovers, a key facet in their game. It led to plenty of fouls on the Magic, too -- all common miscues in Summer League.
All of the Magic's main ball handlers had their share of turnovers: Noah Penda had five, Tristan da Silva had six, Jalen Crutcher and Alondes Williams each had three. The Magic love having their centers work as a pivot, and starting center Kylor Kelley had five.
Those turnovers fed the Raptors in transition. Their defensive was indeed disruptive.
Orlando found some relief by having Penda bring the ball up and initiate offense. The forward was drafted for this potential.
Despite the turnovers, Penda was effective in easing pressure and creating tension in Toronto's defense with his size and calmness on the ball. He had nine points and two assists. But he was much more active, especially being able to take the ball up the court quickly after one of his 14 rebounds (12 defensive rebounds).
"I grew up playing as a point guard, now I'm playing the 5," Penda said after Sunday's loss. "I don't really mind bringing the ball up, especially if I can help my team. It's just a good day to relieve the pressure from the guards because the NBA level you have a lot of physical guards who can guard 94 feet. If I can do that, that's really good."
He still had two critical turnovers in a close game in the fourth quarter. He is not a natural organizer quite yet.
It is encouraging that Jase Richardson looked like that organizer, particularly in the second half when he was more aggressive looking for his shot.
Richardson scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and finished with four assists against one turnover. He struggled with the pressure at times, but when he got downhill and could see the basket, he made some excellent finishes at the rim and plays around the basket.
Late in the game, Richardson made several big plays and helped organize the Magic to stay in the game.
"His ability ot handle the physicality, his ability to get us organized," Magic Summer League coach Ameer Bahhur said after Sunday's game. "You see he has a knack for finding a bucket when we really needed one. I thought he did a great job getting downhill and creating offense for us. I thought the game seemed to slow down a little bit for him. I thought he did a better job of just being patient, getting us into what we're trying to do. It's really difficult the way they were pressing and trapping, and I thought he handled it phenomenally."
The Magic made some poor decisions when the ball was not in his hands.
Down by three point, the Magic opted to push the ball up court after a missed free throw, but could not get organized. By the time they got the ball to Richardson to try to set things up, the Raptors did a good job denying him the ball and the Magic called timeout with seven seconds left.
Da Silva missed the potential game-tying three on a curl to the corner coming out of the timeout.
Without a true point guard, the Magic struggled at times to stay calm in this frenetic, turnover- and foul-fest of a game.
In that way the Magic are constructed similarly to how they will be in the regular season.
The solutions for the regular season
This is Summer League. How much of this can we take as real?
Jase Richardson is going to be fighting for rotation minutes. Tristan da Silva is not likely to have the responsibility to be a key scorer and creator as he has for this team.
There is no Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs or even Desmond Bane. They are certainly far more capable of handling pressure defenses and occupying defensive attention than anyone on this Summer League team.
But the Orlando Magic have built their Summer League roster with the same identity and idea as their regular roster. They sought players with good basketball IQs who would make the right play and be able to bounce between different positions and roles.
Magic general manager Anthony Parker said during his interview on the ESPN2 broadcast that the team's goal was to improve its skill level and IQ. They needed more shooting, but they needed more players who could create off the dribble.
The going thought entering the offseason was the Magic needed a true point guard to complete their lineup. They found that point guard in Tyus Jones, but he will likely come off the bench.
While the Magic should be able to attack from almost any position on the floor, the question will be what will happen late in games or when they go through several bad possessions. Can they get organized and get a good shot?
That remains the big question about this roster and its makeup for the regular season. It is a central piece of the team's experiment.
Summer League is Summer League. It is naturally faster-paced and disorganized. But the way the Raptors threw the Magic off kilter is at least a red flag to register as the team thinks about the fall and the upcoming season.