LAS VEGAS - The Orlando Magic didn’t get the result they wanted in their Summer League opener, but Jase Richardson left Thursday’s 86-74 loss to the Charlotte Hornets focused on the parts of the game he believes will travel.
Richardson scored 15 points and added four assists and two steals as Orlando opened in Las Vegas with a defeat, while Noah Penda paced the Magic with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Afterward, Richardson pointed to the team’s first-half energy as the standard, then made it clear the second half slipped away when the defensive pressure and pace faded.
"I thought we were really good in the first half. We kind of dropped off in the second half, but I think the first half, the defensive intensity and the ball movement was great. Second half, we got to be a little bit better."
That drop-off showed up in a few different ways. Richardson said Orlando’s energy dipped, the ball stopped popping the same way, and the Magic weren’t getting back in transition with enough urgency.
"I think for us, our energy dropped. Second half, we weren't as energetic as we were in the first defensively.
Offensively, we're getting guys involved, diving on the floor, making the extra swings, and I think second half, we just weren't doing that. The shots weren't falling, it got tough for us, and then we weren't getting back in transition.
That's where they killed us."
Penda’s performance was one of the bright spots. Richardson said the forward’s confidence is showing up in his shot, and the five made 3s only fed the momentum.
"He's worked on that all summer. He's come in a lot more confident in his shot and when he's seen those tough ones go down, the basket gets bigger and bigger for him.
His intensity today was amazing. He played amazing and that really helps us.
We feed off his energy and we feed off that."
For Richardson, the summer is also about carrying over the biggest lesson from his rookie year: making life miserable for the ballhandler and doing it possession after possession.
"Just defensively, trying to be more of a pest on ball 94 feet. Try to do that as consistently as possible. Just staying in that mindset, and then offensively trying to get my teammates involved."
There was also a personal note to the night. Richardson said returning to Las Vegas still carries meaning after spending three years there.
"A little bit. I mean, didn't graduate from here, but I spent three years of my life here and it's always this place that was home to me. So, it's always special coming back."
He also appreciated the sight of regular-season Magic teammates sitting courtside and backing the Summer League group.
"They were texting about it in the group chat all summer. I didn't believe that they were actually going to come because everybody likes doing their own thing during the summer, but to see all those guys there to support us, cheer us on, and coach us from the sideline is special."
Richardson also owned one rough sequence after taking a hard fall on a blocked shot, calling the attempt a mistake and saying he needs to clean up those kinds of plays.
"Yeah, I mean it was a terrible take anyways. I took a lot of bad shots today, so I just got to be better.
It's a good block. It got overturned, so I got to be better."
And as he looks to keep growing in the role, Richardson said communication is part of the job too - not just hearing instructions, but passing them along and keeping the group organized in the huddles and timeouts.
"Just being as vocal as I can, taking what he says and feeding it to the other guys. Coming into the timeouts, the huddles, just try to communicate as much as I can in those."
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