By John Denton
Oct. 5, 2016
CLEVELAND – With an entirely new coaching staff and seven new players – 13 if you count the make-good training-camp invitees – the Orlando Magic arranged a getting-to-know-you dinner on Tuesday night designed to build team chemistry.
No, the players didn’t wear those, `Hi, my name is …’ nametags while chowing down on steak, seafood and chicken dishes at a local Cleveland fine-dining establishment, but many of the conversations between the players and coaches were at the very basic level because of the newness of the group.
“It was just getting to know people and asking questions – kind of like when you go on a first date and you ask (general) questions,’’ joked Magic center Nikola Vucevic. “That’s kind of what it was like. It was just talking and getting to know one another. It was a fun time and when you do a lot of those it helps the team chemistry.’’
The Magic’s developing chemistry is still very much a work in progress, something that was quite evident again on Wednesday when the veteran-laden Cleveland Cavaliers flexed their veteran, championship-level experience in a 117-102 defeat of the Magic.
Orlando (0-2) came into the game hoping to show off a re-tooled defense led by free-agent center Bismack Biyombo and under the direction of head coach Frank Vogel against Cleveland all-stars LeBron James and Kevin Love. Instead, the Magic had no answer for a Cavs offense that made 25 of its first 35 shots (71.4 percent) and nine of 12 3-point shots (75 percent). That left Orlando in a staggering 29-point hole at one point in a humbling first half.
Again, the Magic still have a way to go in developing the kind of chemistry needed to hang with the likes of a Cleveland team that was playing its first game since winning a championship last June in the NBA Finals. The Magic will face the Cavs in Cleveland on Oct. 29 in the third game of the regular season and clearly they have a Lake Erie-sized gap to try and make up over the next three-plus weeks.
As he has much of the past four years, James carved up Orlando with both his scoring (seven points) and passing (six assists) in 13 minutes of first-half play. Those six assists led to 17 points and five 3-pointers for Cleveland. Former Magic forward Channing Frye, who was dealt from Orlando to Cleveland last February, was the beneficiary of much of that passing with 12 points and two 3-pointers in the first half.
The good news for the Magic? Evan Fournier, who the Magic locked up to a long-term contract in July, played well from the start again and scored 14 points with two 3-pointers. Jeff Green, who got his first start as a member of the Magic on Wednesday, scored 19 points by making half of his 12 shots, three of five 3-pointers and four of six free throws.
Otherwise, the Magic are eager to get back projected starters Serge Ibaka (knee bruise), Aaron Gordon (ankle sprain) and Elfrid Payton (hip flexor strain) in the coming days to make their team whole once again.
The Magic will be off on Thursday and the squad could skip practice again on Friday if the effects of Hurricane Matthew do serious damage in Orlando. The team doesn’t play again until Wednesday when it hosts the San Antonio Spurs in the preseason home debut at the Amway Center.
Vogel coached his first game with the Magic on Monday night in Memphis and he admitted before tipoff that it felt “strange’’ after spending the previous 10 NBA seasons in Indiana. Vogel was courted by five NBA teams to be their coach last May, but he ultimately chose Orlando because of the strength of the organization and the talent on the team. However, Vogel is well aware that it could take some time for the Magic to become the cohesive, tough-minded team that can contend for a playoff spot in the spring.
That’s one of the reasons that Vogel pushed for Tuesday night’s team dinner in Cleveland. The veteran coach said the Magic must take advantage of every opportunity possible to develop bonds between players, many of whom are still getting to know the most basic details about one another.
“It’s really important for guys to get to know one another on a personal level like that,’’ Vogel said of the laughs shared at Tuesday’s team dinner. “Just going to practice together, that doesn’t always allow for guys to get to know each other the way they should. So I think breaking bread together is really good for us.’’
Orlando was broken early on Wednesday night by a Cleveland offense that was operating at a high level even though starters Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson were being rested.
The Magic’s only lead of the night came at 7-6 and then things proceeded to get ugly. Make that really, really ugly.
Cleveland made 11 of its first 14 shots, but had just a 31-21 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to another stellar start from Fournier. The guard scored 18 points in 23 minutes on Monday in Memphis and on Wednesday he scored 11 first-quarter points and had 14 by halftime.
At one point in the first half, Fournier had made four of seven shots and had scored 11 points. His teammates, however, connected on just two of their first 18 shots for 10 points.
Things didn’t get much better in the second quarter as Cleveland stretched its lead to 64-35. At one point in the ugly, one-sided first half, the Cavs had hit 19 of 27 shots (70.4 percent) and six of nine 3-pointers (66.6 percent), while the sputtering Magic were just nine of 29 (31 percent) and three of eight (37.5 percent).
Again, the Magic need to get several key players healthy and they need to keep working on developing the core’s chemistry and togetherness.
“Those types of things are really, really good for us,’’ said the injured Aaron Gordon, referring to Orlando’s team-bonding session on Tuesday. “We’ve got great characters on this team and off the court we mesh very well. On the court, we want that to transfer as well.’’
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
