ORLANDO — Following a 126-118 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday to open preseason play for the Orlando Magic, All-Star forward Paolo Banchero is pleased with the team’s performance.
The Magic won comfortably by three possessions, all while improving their pace of play.
“Yeah, I think we definitely played a little faster,” Banchero said during Monday’s practice. “Just trying to get it out and go; pushing the pace.”
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Despite a strong effort to open preseason play, Banchero highlighted a key area the team needs to improve in.
“I thought we could have just did a little better job maybe of taking care of the basketball. But honestly, I was pretty happy with just our pace overall.”
Orlando and Miami each finished with 18 turnovers in Saturday night’s contest. But according to Banchero, not every lost possession was cause for concern.
“I'd say just, you know, executing and playing with pace,” Banchero said. “Some of those turnovers were, you know, just attributed to us playing faster. Some of them were, you know, bad mistakes, so just trying to clean up those mistakes. And, you know, the ones that, you know, we're trying to play fast, you know, you can live with those ones, but you just don't want to have the dumb mistakes.”
Last season, Orlando ranked 13th in Turnovers allowed with an average of 14. The Magic also finished last in the league in pace, an area they are diligently working to improve.
Even with the turnovers, coach Jamah Mosley is encouraged by what he saw from the roster against Miami, especially in the first half.
“I loved the quick decisions,” Mosley said. “I did love their ability to push the pace when they were out there, taking advantage of their size, the speed.
“But I keep going back to that ability to make the quick decision, the right play, the ball wasn't held. They were trusting and sharing the basketball like they know they can do.”
Through the ups and downs, Mosley values the experience the team is earning from the preseason.
“It's very important. That's, you know, that's why we say, you know, over and over again, it is a continuation of training camp.”
“That was one of the games we would have played, you know, amongst each other within this gym, but you're able to see it against a different opponent, different coverages, different, different bodies. And I think being able to see that is going to be so important for us moving forward.”