The Orlando Magic’s second preseason game offered a useful reminder: this group is still figuring itself out.
That was easy to see before tipoff, when the injury and availability report came down. Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black were still out, though both are getting closer to doing more in practice and making their preseason debuts.
Jonathan Isaac remained away from the team for personal reasons. Desmond Bane also got the night off with two games in three days, a bit of veteran management that left Orlando short-handed again.
Even so, the bigger story wasn’t simply who sat. It was how much the Magic still have to sort out under new coach Sean Sweeney.
This is largely the same roster, but the coaching staff is new, and that matters. Continuity helps, and Orlando has it on the roster.
It just doesn’t have it yet with the people directing the action. That kind of chemistry takes time, and Sweeney made clear after Wednesday’s strong preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies that the team is still working to make things automatic.
Right now, plenty of decisions still require thought.
Sunday’s 119-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers showed that plainly.
Against a Cleveland group that looked much more game-ready, Orlando spent too much of the night playing from behind. The Cavaliers leaned on James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, with Harden scoring 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 3-for-5 from three, while Mitchell added 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting.
The matchup was always going to be different without Suggs, Bane and Black. But that can’t be the whole answer, even in preseason.
The Magic are going to face nights like this during the season, when key players are unavailable and they have to adapt on the fly. Right now, that part of the equation is still coming together.
Orlando’s offense never really settled in. The Magic finished the first half with a 94.3 offensive rating and a 113.0 defensive rating.
They shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 6-for-20 from beyond the arc. Sweeney pointed to 19 turnovers and said they came from the team not being disciplined with its spacing and its running principles.
That showed up in the flow of the game. The ball didn’t zip around with the same confidence it had in Wednesday’s win, even if Orlando still finished with 14 assists on 16 field goals in the first half and 28 assists for the game. There were flashes of good movement, but the possession-to-possession rhythm wasn’t there.
Spacing has been one of the biggest talking points all camp, and Sunday’s version of it looked tighter and more crowded. At times, Orlando seemed to be overpassing while still trying to learn its reads in the new system.
The defense had some encouraging moments, but it also came with a few growing pains. The Magic were active and physical, sometimes too much so, and that led to fouls - 15 in the first half alone.
There were positives, though, and they mattered.
Franz Wagner continued to show he can shoulder more of the ball-handling load, scoring 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting while consistently getting downhill and forcing pressure on the defense. Tristan da Silva also kept rolling in preseason play, looking more comfortable in the spacing of the offense and finishing with 17 points while making 4 of 11 from three.
The bench gave Orlando a lift, too. Jase Richardson, Wendell Carter and Jamal Cain helped spark a 12-0 third-quarter run that pulled the Magic even, with the reserves outplaying Cleveland’s starters during that stretch. The Cavaliers answered with a 21-4 run to close it out, but Orlando’s response at least showed some fight.
That’s where the Magic are right now: still assembling the puzzle. There are encouraging pieces, but they haven’t clicked together yet.
The opener against Memphis showed the upside. Sunday showed the work still ahead.
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Magic Lineup Questions Got Louder Before The Cleveland Rematch
The preseason meeting with Cleveland offered Orlando a useful early look, even in a 119-105 loss that had the Magic chasing most of the night. James Harden set the tone for the Cavaliers with 24 points, but Orlando still found some offense from a few younger and deeper-rotation pieces, giving the staff something to evaluate before the games start to matter.
The bigger question was the lineup picture, since the Magic were shorthanded with several players out for rest, illness and injury, forcing others into bigger roles than usual. Jase Richardson and Tristan da Silva got the chance to start and both made their presence felt, and with Cleveland waiting again in the next preseason matchup, Orlando will have a chance to see what carries over once the roster is a little closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
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That backdrop matters because the market for first-round extensions is only getting more expensive, and Charlottes situation with Brandon Miller is a reminder of how fast those calls can escalate. As other teams sort through similar timing questions with players like Cason Wallace in Oklahoma City, the Magic are watching the same landscape while trying to avoid being boxed in by their own core before the next wave of deals even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Cap Crunch Puts Pressure On Anthony Black's Place In Core
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Anthony Black is at the center of that squeeze, with Orlando weighing how to keep its core intact while staying flexible enough to manage the cap. An extension on the table is still possible, and one in the neighborhood of Wendell Carter Jr.s deal has not been ruled out, but the current path points toward a more complicated timeline that could leave Black headed for restricted free agency next summer if the picture does not change. [Read more 🡒]