Orlando Magic shorten the learning curve as training camp begins

Tristan da Silva is older than some of the veteran players and holdovers on the Orlando Magic's roster. But he is undoubtedly the new guy on the team. He is very much the rookie of the group.

As the No. 18 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft prepared for training camp, he said he did not know what to expect.

This is the NBA. This is an entirely different level of play. Everyone acknowledges and understands that. And everything is going pretty quickly for the rookie even after one day of camp.

As da Silva put it, he did not know what to expect from his first NBA practice and it still was not quite what he expected. But he has to soak it all in quickly and stay with the team as he goes through his first practice and first training camp.

This is a rookie entering a veteran team. A veteran team with winning aspirations and ambitions. A team that wants to accomplish a lot. A team that said its key lesson from their playoff run last year was how much they need to be detail-oriented and intense with their training camp.

What might define the Magic's training camp this year more than anything might be the speed at which they work through things and understand concepts. The team has no time to lose and wants to drill down on its basics and identity.

Da Silva has to keep up with a connected team that already remembers and knows a lot of what is expected of him. The Magic have to bring the rookie along with them.

Everyone has to make sure da Silva is ready for what they need and does not fall behind this fast-paced camp period.

"The whole team is doing a great job pointing things out and talking to me and giving me confidence to just go out there and play," da Silva said after practice Tuesday. "Everybody gets a good sense of when to talk to me and lift me up and kind of give me pointers."

Da Silva said plenty of the Magic's veteran players pulled him aside to help with understanding concepts. That is everyone on the roster from veterans like newcomer Cory Joseph to the stalwarts on the roster like Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, among others Tristan da Silva mentioned.

Coach Jamahl Mosley said the rookie forward asked a lot of good questions to make sure he was getting the concepts.

Da Silva is actively engaging with what he needs to learn to be a part of this team.

Continuity means the team moves quickly through instruction

In these early days of camp, every team is establishing its basic principles on both ends of the floor. With so many players returning and a team hungry to advance further this season, the team hopes to lower its learning curve and get through the basics quickly to prepare for the season ahead.

The Orlando Magic may not need to spend as much time on those foundations because they are already ingrained in everyone. The hope is they pick up on this quickly so they can drill it down and make it second nature and grow from there.

Things are moving quickly in training camp.

"The longer you are with guys, you understand the tendencies and understand your responsibilities to the team," coach Jamahl Mosley said after practice Tuesday. "Everything becomes about the process of what you are trying to accomplish rather than the individual piece so guys know exactly what they're giving to the group."

Everyone has some level of rust to knock off when training camp resumes. And coaches are always concerned about conditioning early in the season.

But the Magic bringing back virtually the entire roster from last year means there is a lot of internal and institutionalized knowledge for the team to build on. The team can hit the ground running and accomplish their daily goals and instructions quickly.

There is less time spent correcting simple mistakes. A lot of the correction can happen on the sidelines as the team moves forward.

But even a veteran like free agent signee Kentavious Caldwell-Pope needs some time to get acclimated to a new environment after two seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

He said he was trying to learn what the Magic want to do on offense and defense (defense was the main focus for the first day of camp) and getting some pointers from returning players about where he needs to be. There is still some melding going on.

The early part of camp is about communication to make sure everyone is on the right page and moving forward together. Jamahl Mosley said he certainly feels like things are moving faster with this group.

For those returning, it might be like riding a bike.

"That first five, I feel like we felt pretty good together," Paolo Banchero said after practice Tuesday. "There is going to be some rust and things to work through as a group, it being our first time this season. It didn't feel super rusty or out of sync. It felt pretty good together. Our communication as a group was good. I think we just have to get the whole group to communicate in that way."

They hope that means they will be able to communicate and talk to help lift others up, whether that is a rookie like Tristan da Silva or integrating a veteran like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That too is part of the maturity the Magic hope they have gained this offseason entering this season.

That is certainly part of the Magic's attention to detail and focus as they enter camp.

"The group of guys that we have, we have most of the core guys who came back and re-signed, adding new pieces is always good," Caldwell-Pope said after practice Tuesday. "But I think we can all take that leap if we continue to believe in each other, trust each other and go out there and play."

That is the leap the Magic are hoping to begin building in training camp. One of the big messages from Media Day was to stack good days on top of each other starting in training camp. They know that the details they learn now will have big impacts later in the season.

Da Silva will have to do the most learning as any rookie would do. He is the one experiencing training camp and the NBA for the first time. He is the one who needs to play catch-up the most, especially as he fights for minutes.

The takeaway from his first day of camp is the Magic's offense is about reading and reacting. That is something he likes. He also noticed how difficult it is for the team to create advantages on offense going up against this defense.

All he can do is be ready for day two on Wednesday and keep learning and growing.

"It was a lot of fun," da Silva said after practice Tuesday. "Obviously, there is always stuff I can improve on. e talked about it as a team just trusting the process and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Either ways, this is day one. I'm about to be ready to attack day two and I'm excited for tomorrow."