Tristan da Silva spent the preseason looking like a different kind of player, and in a lot of ways, that was the point.
The Orlando Magic were using these games to sort out a new offensive approach, and da Silva ended up right in the middle of it. The third-year forward was firing away from deep, taking more than 10 3-pointers in each of the first three preseason games and knocking them down at a steady clip. For a player who has usually been one of the quieter voices and more understated presences in the locker room, the green light stood out.
“He has done a really nice job on both ends,” coach Sean Sweeney said during practice last week. “I love the aggressiveness he is showing.
He is hunting the right shots. Defensively, he has done a really good job with his positioning.
He has been picking up our schemes really well, and he makes great effort plays throughout the course of his minutes.”
Da Silva finished the preseason averaging 16.5 points per game, trailing only Paolo Banchero on the team. He attempted 9.3 3-pointers per game, though that number was pulled down by the five he took in Friday’s win over the Miami Heat. Overall, he hit 37.8 percent of his threes, going 14 for 38.
The volume was eye-catching, but it also lined up with how the Magic want to play. In the preseason, 37 of da Silva’s 53 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc, which is 69.8 percent.
Last season, he averaged 4.2 3-point attempts per game and made 37.4 percent from deep. More than half of his total shot attempts last season - 51.8 percent - were 3s.
He also led the team with 258 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts, making 38.0 percent of them, according to Second Spectrum. Those catch-and-shoot looks made up 86.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
That is the part of his game that matters most. Da Silva does not need to create a bunch of tough shots off the dribble. He needs to keep punishing defenses when the ball finds him.
“I think obviously confidence is a big part of it,” Tristan da Silva said after Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “But I think more than anything, it is just the nature of the game that we are trying to play, the role that I've been assigned.
“It’s more so that I'm not shooting all these shots because I feel good about my shot right now, and then when I don't feel good, I won't shoot. This is kind of the role I have been assigned.
My shooting ability is going to open the game for other players. That's why I'm shooting that many.”
The Magic clearly want him to keep letting it go. Sweeney has stressed that the team is not chasing a fixed number so much as the right shot, and he made it plain how he views da Silva’s range.
“What's the most he can take? To me, that is the number for him,” Sweeney said after Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“He is a phenomenal shooter. He works at it.
He does a great job of finding the right shots. If the opportunity presents itself to take 5, take five.
If it's 10, take 10. If it's 15, take 15.
And then make the right decision when you have the ball each time.”
For da Silva, the message has been simple: be ready, shoot without hesitation, and trust the work. He said the team has spent a lot of time on shot preparation, and that has changed the way he approaches open looks.
“I think we work a lot on shot preparation and being ready,” da Silva said after Tuesday’s game. “Whenever that happens, and you get a pass, and you are down and ready to shoot it, you shouldn't second-guess whether you should shoot it or not.
If it's a good look, let it fly. For me, it kind of turned into not turning down open looks or good looks.
Every decent look that I can get, I've been taking so far.”
That mindset helped drive the preseason run and gave the Magic a preview of what this offense could look like if the shooting holds. Da Silva’s ability to stretch the floor changes the way defenses have to guard Orlando, and the team is hoping the added spacing forces opponents to pay for packing the paint.
If that shooting burst carries into the regular season, it could end up changing a lot more than just da Silva’s stat line.
In Other News...
Magic Face Two Big Questions After Preseason Finale
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The bigger concern now is health, after Franz Wagner, Jase Richardson and Noah Penda all left the game with different injury issues. Orlando still has time to settle things before the games start to count, but the final tune-up also underscored how much of the early-season picture depends on getting the rotation intact in the next few days. [Read more 🡒]
Magic's New Offense Is Clicking Just In Time For Real Test
The Magics preseason ended on a much cleaner offensive note, the kind of sign that can matter when a team is trying to define itself under a new coach. Orlando moved the ball better, spaced the floor more naturally and got a big night from Desmond Bane, who looked comfortable as one of the main engines of the attack in the finale.
Sean Sweeneys group now heads into the regular season with cautious optimism and a clearer sense of identity than it had a week or two ago. The larger question is whether the improved shooting and spacing from October can carry over when the games count and opponents start taking away the easy looks that were available in preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Magics New-Look Core Already Faces Pressure In Sean Sweeneys First Year
Sean Sweeney is stepping into a situation that already comes with some heat on it. After back-to-back play-in appearances and first-round playoff exits, the Magic are expected to keep moving forward with the new head coach in place for the 2026-27 season, and the bar is no longer just about getting back to the postseason. Orlando has tried to build a sturdier foundation, but in a crowded Eastern Conference, the margin for error is still thin.
The good news for the Magic is that there are reasons for optimism if the group can finally settle in together. Franz Wagners return is one of the factors that could lift the ceiling, but the bigger question is whether a reshaped core can click quickly enough to avoid another season spent fighting uphill. Even the floor of the projection leaves Orlando stuck near the play-in picture, which tells you how much pressure Sweeney and the roster are already carrying before the year really gets going. [Read more 🡒]