Among many issues, Orlando Magic guards Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz will carry a top quality the workforce has lacked for a lot of the season: tempo.
It didn’t take them lengthy to carry that after making their return in Wednesday’s house loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Anthony (19 factors, 6 rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes) and Fultz (10 factors, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 29 minutes) introduced an analogous attacking mindset Friday and created scoring alternatives.
But the Magic (5-18) didn’t knock down sufficient 3s (8 of 23 — 34.8%), particularly early, to maintain up with the Cavs (15-8), falling 107-96 for his or her seventh consecutive loss.
Cleveland was led by Donovan Mitchell’s 34 and went 16 of 42 on 3s (38.1%). Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 22 factors (10-of-17 taking pictures), 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Fultz’s first factors of the season got here Wednesday after shortly bringing the ball up the ground after a made shot, driving into the submit earlier than making a floater/hook shot with 18 seconds left on the shot clock.
“Make or miss, he was getting the ball out [quickly],” coach Jamahl Mosley mentioned Wednesday after Fultz’s season debut, “putting pressure on the defense early on, [helping] us move the ball side to side.”
The Magic performed at a tempo — the variety of possessions per 48 minutes — of 107.4 with Fultz on the ground Wednesday. The sport was performed at a tempo of 102, with the Magic’s tempo of 98.65 coming into Friday’s sport at Cleveland rating twenty third.
Anthony injected an analogous urgency into the Magic’s offense, with the sport being performed at a tempo of 107.2 with him on the ground.
“I loved his aggression when it came down to it,” Mosley mentioned of Anthony. “For us, it’s got to be continued to put those pieces together.”
The Magic didn’t benefit from the aggression Anthony and Fultz introduced Friday, particularly within the third and second quarters, after they have been outscored 55-39.
They acquired to the basket however missed the kick outs for 3 and didn’t convert a number of pictures on the rim early, ending 27 of 46 (58.7%) contained in the paint in comparison with the Cavaliers 22 of 34 (64.7%).
Franz Wagner (16 factors on 6 of 17 taking pictures) missed a number of layups and pictures within the paint earlier than heating up late.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 20 within the third, with the Magic slicing the lead down to eight as soon as their offense began to select up, however they didn’t overcome their mid-game scoring woes and Mitchell’s robust shotmaking (12 of 21, 7 of 11 on 3s).
Moe Wagner, who made his first begin of the season, completed with 16 factors on 7-of-12 taking pictures and 9 rebounds.
Getting the ball up the ground faster — both with dribbles or throw-ahead passes ― is one thing Mosley desires the Magic to do higher.
Their 12 seconds of possession earlier than a shot ranked twentieth and their 10.5 seconds earlier than taking a shot after a defensive rebound ranked final coming into Friday.
They ranked thirteenth and twelfth within the respective classes final season.
Jacking up the primary shot out there early within the shot clock isn’t what Mosley is searching for. It’s beginning actions/units earlier and forcing opponents to need to defend for longer, serving to create simpler scoring alternatives — one thing the Magic have struggled with.
Mo Bamba missed his third consecutive sport due to again spasms. He was a game-time choice earlier than being dominated out over an hour earlier than tipoff.
Wendell Carter Jr. (strained proper plantar fascia), Gary Harris (strained proper hamstring), Jonathan Isaac (left knee harm restoration), Chuma Okeke (left knee soreness) and Jalen Suggs (proper ankle soreness) additionally have been sidelined.
Mosley wasn’t certain if Anthony and Fultz would play Saturday on the Toronto Raptors to shut out the back-to-back.
“We’re going to monitor that, depending on the minutes tonight,” Mosley mentioned pregame. “The goal is to get them there and see how they respond after the game.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com