The Orlando Magic have spent the first week of training camp building toward something they haven’t done before, and Sean Sweeney has already found a fitting way to frame it.
To close out the week, the new assistant brought former junior welterweight champion Chris Aligieri in to speak to the team about the path to becoming a world champion and the work required to get ready for a championship-level fight. It was a boxing lesson, but it also sounded a lot like camp itself: the climb gets harder when the rounds get longer.
That message has matched the tone around the Magic since camp opened. They are learning a new system under Sweeney and trying to break out of the first round after falling short in each of the last three years. The first four days have been heavy on teaching, installing and repetition, but the early signs have been encouraging.
"I really like the communication level that we've had," Sweeney said after practice Thursday. "In general, I thought there would be more trying to get them to do things and really pushing them, but they have been pushing themselves, which is a great sign.
"The other thing I love about our team so far is the way they communicate with each other is strong. These guys know how to talk to each other. They have time spent, but also have equity built up with each other that allows them to communicate openly and effectively."
That self-starting approach has stood out in a camp that has been described by everyone involved as intense. The Magic have been through two-a-days while absorbing new offensive and defensive principles, and the emphasis has been on detail, accountability and getting things right right away.
Tristan da Silva said Friday that the structure and the pace have been a clear step forward.
"A lot of growth compared to where we were at the beginning of training camp and even the beginning of the summer," da Silva said after practice Friday. "I think everybody has put in a lot of work and focus and concentration, making sure we get the fundamentals of our defense and our offense right. That is also credited to the attention to detail the coaching staff is putting on everything."
Players have described the coaching staff as demanding, and that has been part of the point. The Magic are being pushed to build the foundation the right way, with immediate corrections and a strong sense of responsibility on both ends of the floor.
Friday brought a little more live work, with the group competing more against each other as Sweeney continued to see how the concepts hold up when the pace rises. The team is also getting closer to full health. Sweeney said Anthony Black and Noah Penda are taking part in non-contact drills and feeling better after the injuries they suffered early in camp, and both are close to being fully available.
Even with the progress, there is still plenty left to sort out. The Magic are still in the teaching phase, still reinforcing the basics and still trying to make everything second nature. Da Silva said the game is starting to feel smoother in the quicker, up-and-down sequences.
"It takes a bit of time to get there, but we definitely feel that, especially in the quick-minute games or trips up and down," Tristan da Silva said after practice Friday. "Things seem more effortless and more natural.
The spacing, the attacks, where shots are coming from and what we want to do defensively. Right now, it is building further onto that.
And, on top of the fundamentals and the rest of the offense and defense, the approach remains the same and becomes natural."
The first real test comes Wednesday in Memphis, when the Magic open their preseason. That game should show a lot more about how the new system looks once the pressure is real, but Sweeney made clear the process still matters more than rushing ahead.
"I want to see the group keep taking things a step at a time," Sweeney said after practice Friday. "I think we have done a really good job of execution and now I want us to flow from one thing to the next.
First, you teach it, then you want to see if they retained it. Now, can they do it against practice competition?
Then, can they do it when the pressure goes up against game competition? Those steps are still steps that we have to take, and we haven't seen yet."
For now, the Magic have done enough in the first four days to leave camp with a sense that the work is heading in the right direction. Sweeney said the team is in a pretty good place.
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