Orlando Magic's Jase Richardson Evaluates Team Performance After Loss

The Orlando Magic ended up on the losing end of their Summer-League opener, falling 86-74 to the Charlotte Hornets in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Forward Noah Penda was Orlando’s leading scorer with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Guard Jase Richardson contributed 15 points in the loss along with four assists and two steals, and he assessed the performance of the team after the game.

"I thought we were really good in the first half, kind of dropped off in the second half, but I think the first half, the defensive intensity, the ball movement was great in the first half," Richardson told the media. "Second half, we've got to be a little bit better."

The Magic outscored the Hornets, 21-13 in the first quarter, but they were outscored in every quarter afterward. In the second half, Charlotte won the third quarter by 10 points and the fourth by eight points, and Orlando scored less than 20 points in both of those periods.

"I think for us, I think our energy dropped," Richardson said. "Second half, we weren't as energetic as we were in the first. Defensively, offensively, we were getting guys involved, diving on the floor, making the extra swings. 

"I think in the second half, we just weren't doing that," he added. "Shots weren't falling. It got tough for us, and then we weren't getting back in transition, and that's where they killed us."

Despite the loss, Richardson praised Penda for knocking down shots on a consistent basis.

"I mean, he's worked on that all summer," Richardson said. "He's becoming a lot more confident in his shot, and when he's seeing those tough ones go down, the basket gets bigger and bigger for him. His intensity today was amazing. He played amazing, and that really helps us. It really helps us. We feed off his energy, and we feed off that."

In the days leading up to the Magic’s departure for Las Vegas, Richardson expressed his desire to improve as a defender in his second season, and he echoed that sentiment on Thursday.

"Just defensively. Trying to be more of a pest on the ball," Richardson said. "94 feet, try to do that as consistently as possible. Just staying in that mindset, and then offensively, trying to get my teammates involved."

Richardson’s teammates flocked to courtside seats to see the Summer League Roster in action. Players such as Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs could be seen near new head coach Sean Sweeney taking in competition.

"I mean, they were texting about it in the group chat all summer. I didn't believe that they were actually going to come," Richardson said. "Because I mean, everybody likes doing their own thing during the summer. But to see all those guys there to support us and cheer us on and coach us from the sideline is special."

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