Is Orlando Magic’s offense FOR REAL? | What could derail Magic’s offensive REVIVAL?

Is Orlando Magic’s offense FOR REAL? | What could derail Magic’s offensive REVIVAL?

It is a question burning a hole in the Orlando Magic this preseason. Is this offense for real? For real? We’re about to find out. And they keep telling us that maybe it is. Today on Locked on Magic, you are Locked on Magic, your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And you are indeed locked on Magic. Today is October 13th, 2025. My name is Phil Roswank. I’m the senior writer over at Orlando Magicaily.com. credentialed member of the Orlando Magic media since the 2012 season. On today’s episode of Lockdown Magic, we’re going to talk about the Magic’s offense. It has been the talk of the preseason. Is this new look fast-paced offense going to work for the Magic? So far in the preseason, it has been. We’re going to get to that coming up here in just a moment. First, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. No matter when you listen to us, whether it’s first in the morning, whether it’s right when we upload, we truly appreciate you making Lockdown Magic your first listen of the day. be one of our Orlando Magic dailies. That means you’re listening Monday through Friday and on the weekends when we post. Check it out, subscribe, get it in your inbox whenever we upload an episode. It’s all part of Lockdown Podcast Network. It’s your team every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fanduel.com to get started. Let’s start here. It’s the preseason. Uh I I don’t know how many times I I need to warn this or say this or or preface everything I say when I cover these games and talk about these games. It’s the preseason. Lineups are weird. Paulo Ben Carro and Desmond Baitton did not play in Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat. Neither did Norman Powell. Neither did Ben Mabio. Lineups are different. Stats are different. players are working on themselves as much as they’re working on integrating with the team. You expect certain mistakes to happen. What you’re looking for are hints of how the thing comes together. You’re looking for hints of how the pieces of this puzzle ultimately mesh and fit together. And that is not always easy to see. You can’t quite trust all the stats. We’re going to have some fun with preseason stats in this episode, but I want to preface that. I want to preface that by saying you can’t always trust the stats, but the stuff isn’t meaningless either. It It does say something. And so as we come to the end of this preseason, one more game left after the Magics win over the Miami Heat on Sunday, we now have three games of watching this Magic team of a public display of what the Magic are trying to do. And we all know what the big issue is. Yes, the Magic have not been like a fully operational battle station except for Friday against Philadelphia, but we know what the Magic need to do. They need to score. They need to score more points. They need to be more efficient on offense. They need to make shots. They need to do all these things. And the Magic know that even though adding Desmond Bane would be a big boost to all this, they needed something more than just to add the shooter to make the whole thing work. They added a shooter last year. It didn’t work. They need a change of mindset. And so throughout this training camp, throughout the time since the Magic got together on the floor, they have made it abundantly clear that their goal is to play faster, want to move the ball, want to get out in transition more, want to take advantage of the offense that their defense should be creating, the opportunities their defense is creating. They want their defense to be the base of everything, but they know that you can’t win in this league at any level, even with an elite defense, if your offense just isn’t going to score. And so, what we have seen this preseason, what we have seen the Magic do is try to make, I don’t know if it’s a radical transformation of their offense, but certainly a radical transformation of their mindset, of the way that they are attacking this season. The Magic’s offense has been good in the preseason. Here comes your fun with preseason stats. The Orlando Magic scored 120 points against the Miami Heat. They scored 62 points in the first half. They came out of this game with a 116 Let me make sure I have my numbers right here. So, excuse me for checking making double-ecking my off my numbers here. A 116.5 offensive rating. 116.5 with their main starters in minus Paulo minus Desmond Bane. For the preseason so far, the Magic are fourth in the league in offensive rating at 119.9 off points per 100 possessions. Now, that’s not going to last. We’re talk we’ll talk a little bit later about where the problem spark spots are and why that number may not be fully accurate, but the Maddox’s offense is different. It is undeniable that the Maddox’s offense is different. They are doing something different, something that means something, something that matters. And the question is, will this last into the regular season? Is this something that can stick? Now, I’m not convinced the Magic will be top four in the league in offensive rating. There there are still a lot of things struggle. And again, we’re going to talk about one of those big struggles and one of the big areas the Magic need to continue to improve on here in just a moment. Uh, I’m not going to ignore the issues, but I am I do believe that the Magic are on the right track with what they’re doing. And I do believe there is something that feels very real about the way the Magic are playing. The pace, the intensity, the speed at which they’re playing. Yes, they’re making mistakes. Again, I want to talk about those in a minute, but they are a different team on offense. They are taking advantage of their strengths of of these jumbosized playmakers that they have and trusting them and empowering them to lead and attack. They are going to be a better offensive team. And yes, it’s because they have more talent. Desmond Bane is a huge addition. You don’t know what this team looks like with Jaylen Suggs. Tus Jones maybe not doing the things that we want him to do statistically, but he has been a stabilizing force for this team and has done very well. It does feel very much like this offense is real that this offense again not going to be top h top of the league, not the best offense in the league, but it does feel very much like there are concepts within this offense and things that the Magic are doing that are going to translate and are going to deliver the Magic thes, the things that they are looking to accomplish. And that is a huge piece of this puzzle. That is a huge, huge, huge step for a team that we all know these numbers. Was 27th in league in offensive rating last year. Has not been outside the bottom 10 in defensive rating since 2012 when Dwight Howard was on the team. It doesn’t have to be very much, but the Magic do seem like they have taken a big step. And again, Sunday’s game for whatever a preseason game is worth continues that pattern, continues that trend. All of these games, all three of these preseason games have followed a similar pattern. When the Magic are aggressive, getting downhill, not turning the ball over, we’ll talk about that in a minute, moving the ball, they are pretty darn unstoppable. They are taking advantage of the strengths on this team. The Magic aren’t even shooting well yet. Orlando shot only 32 and a half% 13 for 40 from three in this game. They’re not even shooting well yet. And they’re already scoring a ton of points. Everyone on this roster can feel that it’s different. Everyone on this roster acknowledges like, “No, no, no. We’re scoring. We’re doing things on offense. It’s different. and they’re embracing this identity. I do think the Madx offense ha has taken a step. I don’t want to say a leap because I don’t know how good it’s going to be. And and look, we haven’t seen this team at full strength. Paulo, Fron, and Dez played together in Friday’s game against Philadelphia and they did some good things, but they also had their struggles. They still got to learn how to play together and hopefully they’ll all play Thursday. And certainly it doesn’t feel like Paulo and Fron especially are like turning the gear all the way up. We’re going to talk about that when we get to the box. We talk talk about Fran’s game. Doesn’t feel like they have completely taken over. Feels like they’re looking to just get a feel for where their spots are going to be, where their teammates are going to be and and and they’re trying to overpass a little bit. But if the Magic’s goal this season was to improve their offense, improve their offensive mindset, it sure feels like they have. But it has not been all roses. As good as the offense has looked, as good as things appear to be, there are some warning signs, some red flags to be concerned about. We’ll talk about those red flags coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to our friends over at Pelaton. Pelaton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus powered by Pelaton IQ. It’s their most advanced equipment yet. Designed to give you real-time guidance and endless ways to move, whether you’re running, lifting, or crossraining with your favorite instructors. This is Training Re-Imagine. Peloton is built for breakthroughs with tools that help you plan, stay motivated, and reach peak performance. Pelaton IQ system offers real-time strength coaching. It actually tracks your reps, suggest the right weights, and corrects your form, making every rep safer and smarter. And the personalized class recommendations keep you engaged. You get workouts tailored to your vibe and energy level each week. So, let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Pelaton Crossraining Tread Plus today at oneplaton.com. Again, check out the Pelaton Crossraining Tread Plus today at onepelon.com. Like I mentioned, the Orlando Magic are currently fourth in the league in offensive rating for the entire game. I I make that caveat and we’ll get to why. A 119.9 offensive rating is insanely good. So, the Magic are scoring a lot of points. I mean, they they’ve had no problem scoring and they’ve dominated fourth quarters. Fortunately, the fourth quarters are all E10 and 2A guys. We’re going to talk a little about them towards the end of the show. So, this is the red flag. It’s not that the Magic’s offense is much worse. It’s c it’s still better than it was last year, but in the first half of games when we know that starters and regular rotation players and roster players are playing, the Magic Cav will be a 110.6 offensive rating. That puts them at like 14th, 15, 16. They’re like right in the middle middle of the league or they might even be 20. They they’re in like the teens and that’s with their star players in there. Now, there have been good moments. Like, I’m not sitting here like touting the offense and and citing that full game stat like it’s like it’s gospel. It’s not. But there have been good moments that you think, okay, that there there is plenty to work with. There’s plenty to build with, and there’s plenty to keep growing from with this offense. But it is impossible impossible to not acknowledge that there are red flags to be concerned about. If anything can derail this Magic team, it is their two biggest weaknesses. And two biggest weaknesses that undermine their defense. The first is fouling. Magic are a high foul team. They fouled a lot last year. That’s probably not going to change significantly. The Magic are going to foul a lot. Um it’s whether they can survive it and all that, but they’re going to play physical. They’re going to put teams on the line. Don’t make up for it. They’re going to get to the line a lot themselves because they put so much pressure on the basket. The other thing that could undermine them is turnovers. Last year the Magic were uh uh last year the Magic were 20 I believe 27th in the league in turnover rate of like 17 to 18%. Um you know again just 17 18% of their possessions they turn the ball over. If you’re trying to beat the Orlando Magic last year especially, if you’re trying to beat the Orlando Magic, your strategy is to make their offense beat themselves. You force turnovers. You get out in transition. You don’t have to face the set defense. You don’t have to face the number two defense in the league. And everybody tried this strategy. The biggest thing the Magic feared in the series against Boston Celtics was Boston being able to get out in transition, spray out to the three-point line. The Magic not being able to set their defense and set what they’re doing. Magic I thought did a good job in the half court against Celtics. They got in trouble for the like four, five, six possessions when the Celtics got out in transition and that’s when the Celtics built their leads and Orlando struggled to fight back. That’s just that’s just what happened. Um, Orlando has struggled with turnovers in this preseason. And look, you expect some turnovers in preseason. Like, I don’t I’m not going to freak out totally about it. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re you’re you’re given this canvas to explore a little bit. Um, very very importantly, like it looks like Fron is trying to pass to Wendell. They’re all trying to throw lobs to Wendell and just get a sense of where he’s at and where he’s going to be, where he needs to float to. Wendell needs to know where to float to you. Like it’s some of it’s part of the experimenting and you just have to expect expect and accept that they will make some mistakes and that they can rein it all in. That’s that’s kind of the big thing right now is okay which which excesses are they doing? Can that they can re in like the reason why the Magic want to play faster is so that they can take advantage of what their defense is doing, but it means nothing if they give it back. And it’s one thing to have a high turnover rate when you’re not getting a lot of possessions because at the end of the day like you don’t you have fewer opportunities to score. But if you’re still turning the ball over at a high rate when you are playing more possessions at a faster pace that’s more opportunities to beat your defense. And there’s a reason why the Magic with a 110.6 offensive rating in the first half have a 112.3 defensive rating as well. And it’s because they’ve been turning the ball over a ton in the first half of games. Just the first half of games. Again, I make that denotion because we know the starters and bench players played. We’re not dealing with E10 players, not dealing with non-roster players. For the most part, Orlando is 27th in the league in the preseason with a 21.7% turnover rate. That means so far this preseason, the Magic turning the ball over more than one out of every five possessions. Like slightly more than one out of every five possessions. The Magic in Sunday’s game had 20 turnovers for 27 points. Was a big factor that kept the Heat in the game. They had 12 turnovers for 17 points in the first half. So again, when we know the starters are out there, Tyres Jones even had two turnovers. He’s been kind of turned the ball over a little bit more than we’d like to see them do so uh in in this in this in this preseason. Overall, the Magic are 24th in the league with an 18.9% turnover rate for the game in the preseason. Again, it’s preseason. you expect turnovers to be up a little bit. So, not not the end of the world, but something to note. The fact of the matter is when the Magic has struggled offensively and struggled in this preseason, they’ve struggled against the the two teams that they played, the three games that they played, it’s been because they’re turning the ball over and letting teams get out in transition. It’s because they are giving away possessions and giving away opportunities to score. And when you’re playing faster, you’re giving away more of these opportunities if you’re still turning the ball over at this high rate. The Magic struggled with this last year and they’re struggling with it in preseason. Now, again, preseason is a different animal, so I don’t want to go crazy over it. Both Jamal Mosley and Wendell Carter acknowledged that a lot of the turnovers they’re kind of okay with. Not that they’re okay with it, but they’ve been aggressive turnovers. They’ve been the team trying to make the extra pass, trying to do the extra thing, trying to just get a sense of where they’re going to be. I mentioned this on Friday’s episode after the game against the Sixers that it felt like Paulo Ben Carroll was kind of coasting through the game and just kind of kind of figuring out his spots but not playing with loads of intensity and loads of intention. Same thing with Fron Vagner in this game. you know, like look, we’re gonna talk about what Fron did, and Fran had a very good game, but it just kind of feels like Fron is like saying, “Okay, I’m gonna do my thing for like three or four minutes, and then the rest of the time, I’m just going to be here to pass the ball and kind of move it and just kind of get a sense of where my spots are going to be within this offense.” That’s okay. At the end of the day, what matters is that you’re ready for Wednesday. You’re ready for the game against the Heat a week from Wednesday. Um, and I think the Magic are still kind of building themselves to that and still trying to get themselves there. But this is something to watch. This is something you need to flag. The Magic offense might be better. The pace might be really good for them. They might be taking that step, but there’s still a lot to work through. And there’s still this one thing that could derail the whole project. If you want to beat the Magic, don’t face their defense. That means you need to force turnovers. And while yes, the Magic are winning because right now they’re like more talented. Like their starters are winning their minutes. Like again, I I know the net negative net rating for the for the first half, but a lot of that is how poorly the Magic played in that first game against Miami in the first half. Um they won the first half against the Sixers. The starters won their first half minutes against the Heat in the first game. The Magic had only deep bench guys essentially as a minus and the plus minus this game. The Magic are still winning these minutes. So, I’m flagging these things. I’m telling you to be to to be circumspect about it and to just keep an eye on it. But this is a really talented Magic team that is scoring a lot of points right now. We know the defense will get under shape. We know the defense will get ready and we’ll see what it looks like when we see it. So, let’s run through the box scores. We always do after every game. We’ll talk about Wendell Carter. We’ll talk about France and we’ll talk about Jed Howard. Get to that coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to my friends over at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you will unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. FanDuel gives you so many ways to play. You can build parlays, try player props, or even follow the live lines during games. You can even bet on NBA futures. Who’s going to win the championship? Who’s going to win the NBA Cup? Who’s going to win coach of the year? Who’s going to win MVP? You can even get an early bet on the Orlando Magic’s home opener against the Miami Heat. The Magic are favored by eight and a half after Sunday’s game over the Miami Heat. There’s a lot of people that are really, really high on what the Magic are doing. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Again, visit fanduel.com, create an account, bet $5 uh $5, and if your first bet wins, you will get $300 to spend across the app. Today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is also brought to our friends over at Monarch Money. Most people cannot name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there is Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. If you’ve put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Monarch does the heavy lifting for you. You can link all your accounts in minutes. See clear data visuals, get smart categorization, your spending, and finally finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. With Monarch, it help can help you notice an inefficient investment allocation and discover forgotten 401ks from past jobs. Do not do not let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Organization is the first key to empowerment. Use code locked on NBA atmononey.com in your browser for half off your first year. Again, that’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code locked on NBA. The Atlanta Magic again defeat the Miami Heat 120 to 104. were less caring about the score. But again, both teams were down a lot of key players. Paulo Ben Caro and Desmond Bane sat for the Magic. Bam Adabio, uh, Nicolola Yovic stayed home. Bam Adabio did not play. Neither did Neither did um, uh, I’m trying to think who else was the Heep were down. Neither did Norman Powell. There. There it is. Um, they were down. Everyone was kind of sitting guys out, you know. He Heater playing it back toback that Spolster said after the game they had a hard practice on Saturday. Magic doing their kind of weekend weekend weekend one day in between games deal. So they play each other a week from Wednesday even though they both denied that they’re trying to hide things from the other. Neither team has seen each other at full strength. So we we’ll we’ll get a good test next Wednesday against the Heat. Um but the Magic still did a lot of really good things and and we have to start with Wendell Carter. window Carter scored 12 points, 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, five for eight shooting, two for two from three, opened the game with a three, had another three in the first half and the first quarter, excuse me. Um, Dell, Dell, I mean, we’ve talked about this and we’ll talk more about Dell tomorrow. Dell has just been super energetic. He has been uh he looks healthy, he looks athletic, he acknowledged like, I’m feeling really good. He’s just all over the place. And I think like the biggest thing the Magic are trying to do in this preseason is get Dell comfortable with where he needs to be and and his relationship with the two stars. Um I think that is a huge part of what the Magic want to see. They’re trying to teach Dell where to be kind of what his reads are. And I think the Magic are purposely trying to keep him involved. You know, a lot of the Magic’s turnovers uh and this is throughout the three games. This isn’t just in this game. A lot of the Magic’s turnovers have been them trying to make lobs to Dell and just trying to find Dell around the basket. Um, they’ve been broken up, you know, at times. They’ve been ill-advised passes at times, but there’s, I think, definitely an emphasis to keep Wendell involved and make him a bigger part of this team and make him a bigger part of this offense than he will be in the regular season. But look, he had 20 points, 13 rebounds against the Sixers, had a really nice 12-point game in this one. He’s he’s going to do the ball’s going to find him. And when he hit that o that three on the first possession of the game and again just a really like a lot of quick decisions, quick passing, Dell made a great read. He was running a pick and roll with Fron uh and he just saw Fron driving. He rolled through the paint and then slowly backpedalled out to the three-point line. That’s where Fron got him, found him because KL Wear was collapsing on him. That’s such a huge difference. And so Dell Dell looks really good. He’s had a really He’s been the star of the preseason for the Magic essentially in these preseason games. Fron Vagger had his game today too. 17 points, three for eight shooting, one for four from three, 10 for 10 from the foul line. And he scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Like I said, it just kind of felt like Fron decided, okay, for this next three minutes, I’m just going to shoot. I’m just going to score. I don’t care what the results are. I’m just going to just going to attack the basket. And look, Fron is good enough that when he decides to do that, he’s going to do it pretty well. Um the shot wasn’t always there. His timing on his layups have been a little bit off during the preseason, but he’s getting the line a lot more. Um, he took a three, comfortably, took it, made it, got a spot up three. Next two possessions, he tried shooting threes again. Like the confidence is there. The results may not be, but the confidence is there, which I think is important. Uh, he said during the offseason he was going to work on his postgame. Showed that Euro basket. Got to see a couple post ups from him. He scored on both of them or he made plays to get to the foul line on both of them. Uh, on on all of them. U I’ll look at those stats a little bit uh later on through our friends at Synergy. Um, Fron Fronze was really solid and and continues to be really really solid for this team. Um, again, just took over in that that second quarter and that was kind of it. Um, you know, that the way this game played out, Orlando took the lead early. Um, looked really really spry. Then turnovers and fouling kicked in the first quarter. Miami got back in the game. Miami led by led by five at one point, but Orlando really was in control of this game throughout even though they were making mistakes, making these turnovers, fouling a lot. Miami had 34 free throw attempts in the game. Orlando had 38. So, a lot of fouling in this game. This was a physical game. It was a foul game, which is what you expect, which you see in the preseason. So, again, maybe not this late in the preseason. Magic do need to clean up that fouling. Um, it is a big big issue. It’s a big issue last year that they’re going to be a physical team. They’re going to foul and Magic acknowledged that. Um, they don’t expect the whistle to be as tight when the regular season begins, but they’ve got to adjust and they’ve got to be better at keeping teams off the foul, and that’s probably the biggest thing to watch uh when we get to Thursday’s game against the Pelicans. So, just something to keep an eye out for. Um Tristan Dilva continues his really strong preseason. 11 points, four for9 shooting, one for four from three. Uh seven rebounds. I I just got to give Tristan all the props. He He just looks confident. Like again, we saw this in Euro Basket. Like he’s confidently shooting shots over defenders, looking for his own shot, getting to his spots, hitting that little fadeaway shot. Like he’s comfortable with that now. He’s just aggre like the difference between this year and last year is he’s aggressive enough and confident enough to go get his own shot. And look, I don’t want him like overdribbling. He’s not doing that. That’s not his style. But he’s just he’s just been solid. He’s been such a solid player for this team. And you know, look, I think he’s gone from, oh, he can be a really nice rotation player to he’s going to win the magic playoff game. like there’s gonna be a game in the playoffs, like a game four in a series where he’s going to hit three, you know, three or four threes, and that’s going to give the Magic the lead on the road or give the Magic the lead when they need it uh the lift when they need it to to win a critical game. Like I I I I’m that confident in Tristan at this point. He’s he’s just he played fantastic at Euro Basket. It’s carried over into uh this part of the regular season. Uh coming off the bench, um Jace Richardson continues his really nice preseason. 13 points, four for 12 shooting, two for five from three, three for four from the foul line. This was probably Jay’s worst game of the preseason, which is again saying something. He had two he had he struggled a little bit in the first half, hit two threes to open the second half, really started to break that game open. Orlando won this the third quarter 29-22 to get some distance. Um they were up by seven, so they go up four, they double their lead in the third quarter. Built as much as a 24-point lead in this game. Jay, you know, Jayce gave that bench group a lot of energy. Um, but like the biggest thing I would say is just like Jace is a fighter, man. Like look, this wasn’t the most efficient game for him. Um, you know, I think, you know, one of the things in his draft process and his on his draft profile is that he’s one of the best finishers at the rim in the entire and in the entire college basketball, especially for someone at his height. And the question was whether that would translate into the NBA. And I would say like he hasn’t gotten that timing down right. I don’t want to say it hasn’t translated yet. He’s learning how to finish at the NBA. But that dude, he could miss a shot, he’s going to come right back. He could fall down, get knocked to the floor. He’s going to come right back. There’s a moment in the third, sorry. There’s a moment in the third quarter where he got hit, fell to the floor. He got the foul, fell to the floor, and for a few possessions, he was grabbing his back. He was just holding his lower back. But that dude was unafraid to go at it again and and stay in it. And like look, half the battle with his height is just that willingness to get up to that the toughness to say you can hit me. I’m not going to back down. Jace Richardson has that. Jace Jace has that in him. And he’s shown that in these three preseason games. Like I don’t know what his role is ultimately going to be. Uh you know I think he’s still got work to do to be at the level the Magic need him to be at as as exciting as he’s been, but like he’s he’s got that it factor. He’s got that intangible factor that you need to have. Another guy to note who was really impressive and I want to talk more about him tomorrow and we talked a little about him last week as well. Jet Howard. Jet Howard had 11 points, three for six shooting, two for four from three, three for three from the foul line, five rebounds, four assists, used his fouls, got a block as well. Look, uh Jet has been Jet has struggled in his first two seasons and like he needs to show up and for the second straight game, he was the first guy off the bench. Certainly some of that has to do with who was absent and I don’t know what his role in the rotation has been. But while I don’t think he’s a good defender necessarily yet, he has shown fight. He has really grown on that end of floor. He grew last year on that end of the floor, but he has really taken another step defensively over the off seasonason. If that shot is there, if that three-point shot is there, and he’s been the most reliable three-point shooter for the team in the preseason, he is someone you have to consider getting playing time to. Now, I don’t know how that’s going to work. I’m not going to sit here to say, “Oh, he’s guaranteed to be in the rotation.” But I’ve gone from like Jets a break glass in case of emergency guy to, you know, let’s let’s throw him in there and see what it looks like. Let’s let’s see. Let’s give him that chance. And I think the fact that he’s been first off the bench in both of these games. The fact that like Fron’s singled him out as a guy who’s played really well in camp and taken a big leap to me that says that you know what, Jet deserves another look and he’s played great in the preseason. I’ve loved everything he’s done in all three of these games. I think he’s been more productive offensively against the the backend bench guys, but he’s doing he’s he’s making his impact felt in other ways, and I think that’s really really important for him and this team. Uh not a lot else to report. Anthony Black had nine points. Noah Penda had seven on three for 10 shooting. Um getting my first like live look at Penda, he he’s going to do things like he’s not NBA ready. He’s he’s got a lot of work to do. Just refine just like fine-tune some things. He’s going to get a lot better this year. But he just makes things happen. Like you you feel his presence on the floor. It’s not just like he’s a big dude and you can’t avoid not not seeing him, but you feel his presence out there. He gets steals. He makes plays on defense. He’s comfortable handling the ball. He’s not afraid to shoot. Maybe he should be, but he’s not afraid to shoot. But but Penda, they have something in Penda. It’s not ready. It’s not fully cooked. Keep it in the oven, let it marinate a little bit. Um, and I think the magic will have something. I’ I’ve been impressed with Penda throughout the preseason by watching him play live. Like, you see just the little things that he’s doing and and and that like he wants to be involved. Like, he gets a little over here as all rookies do, but but he he he’s going to be able to do things and and like look, if the Magic need to play him for a few spot minutes, like he’s gonna do something. He’s he’s he’s not going to just sit idly by and and be ignored. He’s going to make things happen. I want to make sure I give a shout out to the two-way two-way and E10 guys. I’ve been super impressed with Jamal Kane in all three games. Good scorer, good shooter, uh solid defender, like just the whole group. OciOla is gonna have a great team. If you want to go to go to G to the G-League, the OciO Magic are going to be a great team. They just fight. They play so hard and that’s that’s that’s half the battle. and and the Magic look won the game in Miami because won the game in Puerto Rico against Miami because that E10 group played so well. They destroyed the Sixers in the fourth quarter. They won their minutes and played really well in this game. Um I love Orlando Robinson. He throws his body around. He kind of knows exactly what his limitations are um and plays to them and plays through them and and makes things happen. Um, Colin Castleton, like he had he had the play of the night with that dunk at the end of the third quarter. Colin Castleton is an NBA player. Like back in the bench, back rotation guy. He’s an NBA player. He’s going to be on a 10way 10day the moment that that those become available. Um, the fact that he’s going to have to spend the year in Ociola and probably play a little bit behind Orlando Robinson at times. Um, that dude that dude is an NBA player. So, uh, really fun watching him play. Made some great plays. got to play with Goa Vat for an extended time which was interesting to say the least. It didn’t didn’t stink. Um Goa that was a lineup to get Goa shooting. Go is willing to shoot not make any shots at the NBA level quite yet. Um but I I’ve been impressed with all the Magic’s E10 and two-way guys. They they’ve played really really well and they’ve they’ve delivered for the Magic. The Atlanta Magic shoot 39.4%. It’s not a great shooting game, but they get 20 sorry they get 23 offensive rebounds. They score 29 second chance points. That’s eight for 21 on second chance points. plenty to clean up offensively. Um, there are a lot of points left on the board offensively, which is the scary part of how good the Magic’s offense has been. They’re leaving points on the board as well with turnovers with with all this stuff. They have 13 fast break points, get a lot of fouls out of that. Um, and they convert 17 points off of 15 Miami turnovers. So, the Magic are doing good things on that front. It’s just a lot of it could continue to get better and be more efficient and all that jazz. So, we’ll see what the Magic do. They hold Miami to 9 for 33 from three, 38 and a half% shooting overall. They give up 14 offensive rebounds. a lot of that in the first half, but the Magic cleaned that up when the Magic’s half court defense was set. Like they still play Magic defense. They fouled a little too much, but like they’re still energetic. They’re still tough defensive team. It’s there. I’m not worried that it’s going to be there. I’m just a little worried about, you know, the offense not quite being in form and putting the defense in some compromising positions, but the Magic will do enough. I think if there’s one takeaway from the preseason, so far, the Magic will do enough that they’ll give themselves a chance. It it it would take a really good team and the Magic haven’t played a really good team in this preseason. Obviously, it will take a really good team to take advantage of some of the Magic’s mistakes at this point. The Magic defeat the Miami Heat 120 to 104. They will close their preseason Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans. But that’s going to do it for me today. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Lockdown Match. Googers find me on Twitter, Philip R_omD, and on Blue Sky, Philip R. You can subscribe to the podcast, on Apple Podcast, St. tuning in handling Google Spotify Odyssey and all the fun podcast to your podcast enabled listening device. You can check us out on YouTube as well. Just search for lockdown magic. For the latest on the Orlando Magic, be sure to check out Orlando Magicaily.com. You can find us on Twitter, omagic Daily. And for even more Orlando Magic content, be sure to check out my daily newsletter, the Orlando Magic Hub, at patreon.com/orlandomagicub. As always, thank you for your support. Now that you’re done making Lockdown Magic your first listen of the day, go make your second listen the Locked on Fantasy Basketball Podcast. Josh Lloyd, hosting number one fantasy basketball podcast, giving you daily tips and helping you win your league, all while making you a smarter NBA fan. Find Locked on Fantasy Basketball on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. All part of Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And I’m picking up the jersey Wednesday, Josh. So I will get that to you as soon as I can. But that’s going to do it for me today. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Lockout Magic. On tomorrow’s episode of Locked Magic, we’ll talk about the standouts from camp. That’s Wendell Carter. That’s Jet Howard. Maybe a little Trista Dilva. Although we talked about both Jet and Tristan a little bit last week, we’ll get to some camp standouts on tomorrow’s episode of Locked on Magic. But until then, for Orlando Magic Daily and Locked on Magic, this has been Philip Ross and Reich. We’ll see you again next time for another episode of Locked On Magic.

The Orlando Magic have struggled on offense for much of the last decade. The path to their improvement has always leaned on their improving on that end.

So they have added key players but also changed their offensive mindset, focusing on pace and running more to improve their offensive fortunes.

Their three preseason games have shown this mindset take root. They are improving on offense and have shined in the preseason. The Magic have one of the best offenses in the preseason so far. Orlando perhaps has taken a key step forward.

But there are reasons for concern. The team continues to struggle from deep and continues to struggle with turnovers. These could derail all the growth the Magic have made and unravel the team’s title hopes.

0:00 Intro: Is Orlando Magic’s offense for real?
5:44 Magic’s offensive improvement and potential concerns
11:52 Red flags: Turnovers undermining defensive efforts
18:00 Analyzing preseason performance and player adjustments
23:37 Wendell Carter’s strong preseason showing
27:40 Jase Richardson and Jett Howard’s impressive performances
32:14 Evaluating rookies and two-way players

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOMagic?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#OrlandoMagic #wendellcarterjr #NBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Gametime
Today’s episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.

Wayfair
Get organized, refreshed, and back to routine for way less. Head to https://Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.

Peloton
Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.com to get started

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)