What Kentavious Caldwell-Pope must do to finish preseason on a positive note

The Magic’s big offseason addition was not another star. It was a battle-tested, defensive-minded veteran, and fans were excited to welcome Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Orlando. Since then, we have only seen him on the court once during preseason. 

Caldwell-Pope suited up for his first preseason game with the Magic in New Orleans to face the Pelicans. He played 17 minutes and scored two points in a rather underwhelming performance. After that, Caldwell-Pope sat out the Magic’s second preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, and the rematch against the Pelicans was canceled. 

Caldwell-Pope has been very vocal and active during Magic practices and scrimmages, embracing his role as the team’s veteran leader. That alone is a valuable addition to a young team hoping to grow into a contender, and the Magic noted early on already that Caldwell-Pope was steps ahead of the rest of the team. 

And yet, fans want to see Caldwell-Pope on the court and get a better idea of what he looks like with the Magic before the regular season starts. The Magic’s first preseason game made it clear that the team needed some time to find its rhythm, and the best way to do that is to play together. 

If all the best players are healthy, the playoff race in the Eastern Conference will be a bloodbath. The Magic’s margin of error will be small if they truly want to secure homecourt advantage for the playoffs. Everything needs to be ready early in the regular season. 

How Caldwell-Pope can impress Magic fans in the team’s final preseason game

The Magic have just one preseason game left. They will face the Philadelphia 76ers (without Joel Embiid and Paul George) in one last game before the start of the regular season. 

If Caldwell-Pope is playing, there are a few simple things he can do to end preseason on a positive note and awe Magic fans: hit threes and play excellent defense. In other words, do exactly what the Magic signed him for. 

In his sole preseason action so far, Caldwell-Pope missed both of the threes he attempted. While it was just one preseason game, it is certainly not what the Magic want to see from Caldwell-Pope. Improved 3-point shooting and spacing are the key to a better offense, and the Magic desperately need to improve on that end of the floor. 

Caldwell-Pope may not be a volume scorer, but he is a respected 3-point shooter, and hitting threes is the best thing he can do to help the Magic succeed. So, it would be great to see the veteran convert a few threes during a game before the start of the regular season. 

The other thing, the Magic need from Caldwell-Pope is defense. They decided to rely on internal improvement to create a better offense rather than going after an offensive-minded player during the offseason. That internal improvement won’t be there right away, however. It will need time and during that time, the Magic will have to lean heavily on their defense. 

Defense can keep Orlando in games, even if the offense is not going well, and it all starts with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jalen Suggs in the backcourt. Seeing how they deal with Tyrese Maxey should be a decent indication of how strong this defensive duo really is.