The Orlando Magic’s rough start kept rolling on another frustrating night, and Wendell Carter Jr. didn’t need to look far for the reasons why.
Orlando fell 117-104 to the Phoenix Suns, handing Phoenix its second win of the season and dropping the Magic to 2-6. It was the team’s third straight loss, and the same problems that have followed Orlando all season showed up again: careless turnovers, too much dependence on the 3-point shot when it isn’t dropping, and missed free throws.
Carter was one of the few bright spots. The center put together a dominant double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds, but his postgame message focused less on his own numbers and more on what keeps tripping the Magic up.
On Orlando’s 25 turnovers, Carter pointed to poor decision-making and a lack of offensive chemistry between teammates. He said both the passer and the receiver have to do a better job of reading where everyone is and making the right play. For him, fixing the turnover issue is on the whole group, not just one player.
He also stressed that communication has to get better if the Magic want to turn this around. Carter said basketball demands that all five players stay connected, and that Orlando has to improve how it talks early, listens to one another and stays in the right spots. He took some of that responsibility on himself, too, while expressing confidence the team can clean things up internally.
As for what made Phoenix so difficult, Carter didn’t frame it as some special Suns attack. He said the bigger issue was Orlando beating itself. The 25 turnovers gave Phoenix extra chances to score, and the missed free throws only made the hole deeper.
Carter also explained why his own offense was so productive. He credited his teammates and the coaching staff for putting him in the right places and delivering the ball when the opportunities were there. In his view, the scoring came from being set up properly and taking advantage of those openings.
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