“Poise and maturity.”

That’s how Magic forward Noah Penda described fellow second-year pro Jase Richardson, the 6-foot-1 teammate who turned 21 on Friday.

Through three preseason games and two starts in place of Jalen Suggs, who was ill, Richardson averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists during 23.8 minutes per contest.

“He adjusted pretty well to that temporary role of a starter and then after he got back in the second unit, he’s organizing us pretty well,” Penda also said about Richardson. “Jase is always going to be Jase. So, you know that offensively you can always count on him.”

Richardson’s second season in Orlando will ultimately boil down to whether or not he’s able to get on the court. Beyond Suggs and Richardson, the Magic’s backcourt features sharpshooter Desmond Bane, fourth-year pro Anthony Black and veteran guard Jevon Carter.

As a rookie last season, Richardson averaged 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists during 10.9 minutes per game across 54 appearances, but he wasn’t asked to do much on the floor.

He followed his freshman campaign with a strong showing at his second Las Vegas Summer League by averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals during 30.1 minutes per game in three contests.

So far this preseason, Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. has noticed “extreme growth” from the young guard on both ends of the floor.

“Point guard is not an easy position having to command the floor and tell everybody where to be at,” Carter said Friday morning. “He’s been doing a really good job of that. Defensively, he’s taking on that challenge every time down the court. He’s a very high IQ guy who plays with a sense of speed, but he’s definitely under control whenever he goes and does anything.

“He’s just one of those guys who’s going to continue to grow and blossom into a really good NBA player.”

Entering Friday’s preseason finale against the Heat, Richardson had been asked by new Magic coach Sean Sweeney to continue to help push the pace on offense, make quick decisions and defend at a high level.

After hosting Miami, Orlando opens the regular season Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks inside Kia Center. It’s start of a key season for Richardson’s development as a young player.

“Jase has done a really good job,” Sweeney said. “He’s been in different spots, probably, than he’s been in his short career thus far, in terms of on and off the ball (and) screen setting. But just in general, I like the way he’s been attacking.

“And defensively, he’s done a really good job of communicating and giving great effort, and shown a level of toughness that we appreciate.”

Magic raise awareness

The Magic and AdventHealth teamed up for the seventh time to raise breast cancer awareness by hosting “Pink in the Paint Night” during Friday’s preseason game.

The team donated tickets to local breast cancer survivors, who would be honored at the game. In addition, the Magic were set to raise money throughout the night to benefit AdventHealth Foundation’s Breast Care Fund and also encouraged fans to wear pink to the game.

Hair tie company Teleties also donated breast cancer awareness hair tie packs to 10,000 fans as they left Kia Center. Meanwhile, the first 5,000 fans to enter the building received rally towels courtesy of AdventHealth and Teleties.

During the game, Teleties presented a $15,000 check at halftime to AdventHealth Foundation’s Breast Care Fund and was set to donate $250 for every point scored in the fourth quarter to the nonprofit organization.

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com