There is obviously the expectation to compete on defense. That part is not going away and remains essential to everything the Magic will try to do. So too was the speed and intensity they played at throughout the week in Vegas.<\/p>\n
In the Orlando Magic’s Summer League finale against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, they got sucked into a game that was fast-paced and full of 3-pointers. There is no mistaking a Joe Mazulla Celtics team.<\/p>\n
What stood out was how at home the team felt playing at such a heightened pace — 106.2 possessions per 48 minutes. The Magic’s 115.7 offensive rating seemed to suggest the Magic out Celtics’ed the Celtics — the Magic made 12 of 28 from three compared to the Celtics’ 17 for 37.<\/p>\n
Orlando created some distance with a third quarter where the team made 13 of 18 shots. The team held onto the lead thanks to back-to-back threes from Ricky Council IV in the fourth quarter. The Celtics ran out of time in the Magic’s 103-97 win. <\/p>\n
Orlando had the composure and the intensity to answer and complete a 4-1 Summer League, the team’s best record since returning to Vegas in 2018.<\/p>\n
“Our team played very well,” Au’Diese Toney said after Saturday’s game<\/a>. “We played very aggressively. Coach preached being aggressive. We came out and executed that. That changed the momentum of the game. Caught our rhythm and stuck with it.”<\/p>\n Was this Magic basketball? Certainly, forcing 23 turnovers for 24 points was part of why the Magic won and a sign the defense was better than it seemed in a sloppy 40-minute game.<\/p>\n There are certainly elements of who the Magic want to be even with the remaining Summer League players getting their chance — Noah Penda, Jase Richardson, Alex Morales and Colin Castleton sat out and Lester Quinones, TyTy Washington Jr. and Keon Johnson played only roughly 11 minutes.<\/p>\n A partial picture<\/p>\n Obviously, it is not the whole picture. And obviously everything is new. <\/p>\n Everyone has been trying to pick up on habits and patterns<\/a> that will define who this Orlando Magic team will be. Nothing gets cemented until the main roster is together.<\/p>\n But identity should exist regardless of who plays. The style and ideas that create success, the keys and outlines to success, remain no matter who is on the court.<\/p>\n Something has to be a common thread stringing the whole team together. Something has to define how they play.<\/p>\n That something needs to shine through when players like William Baker (15 points, six rebounds), Au’Diese Toney (18 points, six rebounds, four steals) and Malik Reneau (19 points, 3-for-3 shooting from three) are the main players.<\/p>\n They thrived in their opportunity.<\/p>\n “From the start of the summer, the way the coaches welcomed us in, the way the former players that were already here welcomed us in, it helped us out a lot,” Reneau said after Saturday’s game<\/a>. “It helped us out a lot, kept us in the grind and kept us pushing every single day. When everybody got their opportunity, everybody shined.”<\/p>\n The final Summer League game was indeed a showcase for the players who had not played much — if at all — in the first four games. How they played and worked together would speak to the identity and culture the team was trying to instill.<\/p>\n It was far from perfect. And nobody should take it as a sign of what the Magic want to do. But the consistent element was how fast and forceful the team played.<\/p>\n The Magic were not necessarily getting out in transition off all those turnovers they forced, but they were working to speed the Celtics up and working to get into their sets quickly. Players moved through their sets quickly. <\/p>\n They played with confidence and force. That is the only way to win. And a credit to the culture the coaches built.<\/p>\n
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