Orlando Magic handle business in season opener; 3 takeaways
By Luke Duffy
2. Their looseness worked both ways
The Orlando Magic started the game looking a little excited as they rushed some offensive sets, but they eventually found their rhythm. When they were attacking the Cavaliers they looked more sure of themselves than last season and this is most likely attributed to returning 12 guys from last year. That is a joint high across the league (alongside the Denver Nuggets) and it showed.
Nobody looked lost out there and really the only negatives where guys like Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon putting up lower percentage looks or trying to take too much out of the ball. For guys like Terrence Ross, however, it was like they never left. He checked into the game and right away was back to what he did best last season.
Moving without the ball, getting set up by teammates screens and letting it fly from deep. This was a good performance all round on that end, but the potential for improvement is not only definitely there, it will be expected as the Magic move through the regular season. Defensively it wasn’t quite the same story, as the team looked loose on that end early.
The Cavaliers, starting a backcourt of second-year player Collin Sexton and rookie Darius Garland, were able to get good looks for themselves and teammates early, as they scored with relative ease. Take nothing away from these guys, they are good young players who will only get better.
But giving up 24 points in the manner in which they did in the first quarter won’t have made coach Clifford very happy.
It was reminiscent of that lethargic effort that we saw from them against inferior opponents like the Cavaliers, who beat them last season. They figured it out though, holding the Cavaliers to only 61 points after the first quarter and asserting their dominance as the better team on their home court as a result.