Tristan da Silva has always been noted most for the unassuming way that he plays.
Da Silva can space the floor as a shooter, make simple plays and stay within his role on offense. While he lacks some size, he is fairly versatile as a forward and will rarely be out of position.
He is not there to break anyone down off the dribble or dominate the ball.
So if anyone was expecting a breakout performance from him playing for the German National Team without Franz Wagner, that just is not who he is.
His game on Friday in a 99-83 victory over the Netherlands is not going to stand out. He scored only five points on 2-for-9 shooting, adding six rebounds and four assists. It felt like a typical down game for da Silva where the ball did not find him. He is not one to impose himself on the proceedings or have plays drawn fro him.
Germany did not need it with Dennis Schroder dominating the game against a weaker, mistake-prone opponent. But as Germany learned in Eurobasket last year, they do need da Silva ready to step up when the ball swings to him.
That is what the Orlando Magic need too. And da Silva faces a critical season in his career. His play and his opportunity will say a lot about how good the Magic can be.
There is a long list of things that need to happen for the Orlando Magic to be successful this season.
They need All-Star, if not All-NBA, seasons from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, first and foremost. That is almost a given. They need consistency from Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. They need Wendell Carter to help fill in gaps and be a defensive stalwart. They need to click with their new coach.
All those what-ifs explain why preseason predictions are so low on the Magic. Those are the big things that determine a team's ceiling.
A player like da Silva is the kind of player who does not have a huge impact on the team's ceiling. But he could win them a critical game by making defenses pay for leaving him open. He can swing a series or a moment in the Magic's favor.
The margins between a team pretending to contend and one contending is often those tiny moments and those key role players. That is what the Magic envision for da Silva. That is what they need from him.
Da Silva has all the tools and has had moments where he looks like he can do this. But entering his third season, and after a frustrating Playoff series, da Silva has to show he can play that role. It might be a big difference for the Magic this season.
Finding Da Silva's spot
The question for a player like Tristan da Silva is how to maximize him in his role and how he can help the team.
He is one of the better 3-point shooters on the team, by percentage, making 37.4 percent on 4.2 attempts per game last year. For a team without shooting, even that little bit of room is critical.
The Magic's most-used lineup last year featured Tristan da Silva starting for Franz Wagner and saw it outscore opponents by more than 10 points per 100 possessions.
He was a solid plug-and-play player, able to step in and make open shots without standing in too many players' way. Orlando had a +1.6 net rating with da Silva on the floor (113.2 offensive rating/111.6 defensive rating).
That speaks to how steady da Silva was throughout the season. The Magic could count on him to do his job, whether that was making a spot-up three, cutting to the basket or keeping the ball moving.
That is what he does so well and how he has found success with his national team too.
On Thursday, da Silva did not stand out much in the flow of the game -- outside of a jab step that sent a defender flying in the wrong direction, opening a lane for him to attack the rim, but he got rejected on his layup attempt. He was excellent making passes in transition and recorded a few steals and deflections.
It was easy for da Silva to slink into the background. The game did not call for da Silva to make an impact and he did not do more than his role asked for.
That might explain why da Silva can often go quiet for long stretches. And it explains at least in part why he is so important.
When the ball does find him, he must deliver, whether that is a jumper or keeping the ball moving. That is what he does so well for his national team and for the Magic.
The next step
Last summer, Tristan da Silva had a breakout playing for the national team for the first time and helping Germany win Eurobasket.
His half-court heave to end the third quarter in the quarterfinal against Slovenia helped spark the comeback to win that game. He had 13 points in the final against Turkiye.
Da Silva seemed to carry that over into the early part of the season. He was a reliable catch-and-shoot option and someone who culd hit a bunch of threes when defenses strayed too far from him.
That is all the Magic want from him.
But in the Playoffs, da Silva disappeared. He made only 5 of 16 threes and averaged only 24.7 minutes per game.
Despite being the go-to fill-in for Franz Wagner throughout the season, Jamahl Mosley stuck with Jamal Cain, likely because of his stellar defensive effort in the fourth quarter of Game 4, capped off with that crazy dunk.
Da Silva was struggling and so he was going with the hot hand.
Then again, da Silva was one of the few players for the Magic who played well in Game 6, scoring 10 points, making two threes and posting a +10 plus/minus. He hit one of the final shots before the Magic's drought.
Da Silva did not hve trust for whatever reason. He went scoreless in about 8.5 minutes in Game 7. That he lost it speaks to how much da Silva slinks into the background too much.
It was a puzzling postseaosn for da Silva. He likely earned more benefit of the doubt than he received.
The next step would be for him to deliver in that big spot and serve this role the Magic have been desperate for him to fill.
There will be a lot moments this season where the Magic will need da Silva to step up and deliver. If he can, it could make a huge difference for the Magic.
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