The Orlando Magic took their first preseason loss Thursday night, falling 119-105 to the Cleveland Cavaliers inside Rocket Arena. Even with the defeat, Orlando still got a useful look at a big chunk of its rotation against one of the East’s stronger teams.
There were a few bright spots for the Magic, starting with Tristan da Silva. With Desmond Bane resting, da Silva got the start and kept firing from deep, knocking down 4 of his 11 3-point attempts. Orlando has been looking for a bench shooter who can stretch the floor, and a night like this only strengthens da Silva’s case if it carries over into the regular season.
Jase Penda also made his preseason debut after sitting out the opener against the Memphis Grizzlies, and he made it count. The second-year pro out of France finished with eight points, five rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes, showing the kind of two-way versatility that could earn him more run as the season goes on.
Jamal Cain kept the bench production rolling. He scored 11 points in 19 minutes, continuing to make the most of his opportunity in Orlando after going undrafted and spending time on several two-way deals. Now in his fifth season, Cain looks settled into a real role, and he played like someone intent on holding onto it.
Not everyone had it going. Paolo Banchero had another rough shooting night, finishing 1 of 10 from the floor. He did draw plenty of contact and got to the line five times, making 7 of 10 free throws.
Banchero’s shot has wavered at different points in his career, so this wasn’t the kind of night that changes the bigger picture. It’s simply something he can keep sorting out before the games start to count.
The Magic and Cavaliers meet again tomorrow in Orlando, with tip-off set for 7 pm ET inside the Kia Center.
In Other News...
James Hardens New NBA Standing Says A Lot About Clevelands Ceiling
James Hardens place in the league may not look the same as it once did, but the Cavaliers are still betting on what he can do for a team with real postseason ambitions. Bleacher Reports latest ranking slotted the veteran guard 30th among NBA players, a reminder that he is no longer being discussed in the same tier as the leagues absolute elites. Even so, Harden still gave Cleveland steady production last season and remains a central part of a starting group built around Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Hardens role matters because Cleveland is not asking him to carry everything anymore, only to help lift a roster that believes it can make a deeper run. He averaged 19.2 points and 5.5 assists in the playoffs last season, numbers that hint at why the Cavaliers brought him back on a three-year contract. The bigger question now is how much higher this group can climb with Harden in a more defined position, and whether his standing around the league matches the value Cleveland thinks he still brings. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron Still Looms Over How Cavs Fans Judge This Team
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That backdrop matters now because the current group is being judged as much by what came before as by what it is building in the present. The Cavs have moved well past the post-LeBron reset, and the core they are trying to shape has made real progress, but the next step is always framed against a legacy that still defines what success looks like in Cleveland. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Still Have One Familiar Problem They Must Fix Fast
The Cavaliers are out of preseason now and into the part of the calendar where the details start to matter more, especially the ones that have been easy to overlook in exhibition play. Cleveland has already identified a few issues to clean up before the games count, but the one that stands out most is the same sort of hard-nosed problem that tends to show up again if it is not addressed quickly: rebounding and the physical tone of the game.
Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have carried a lot of that load inside, but the Cavaliers need more help from the wings if they are going to hold up over the long haul. Kenny Atkinson also wants this offense moving with more purpose, with less reliance on isolation and more shared ball movement, and those two fixes often go hand in hand. If Cleveland can sharpen both ends at once, it will look a lot more like a team ready to compete the way it expects to. [Read more 🡒]