2025-2026 Preseason Game 4: New Orleans Pelicans (2-1) at Orlando Magic (3-0) - 7pm ET

[Knightro]

Magic finish the preseason as the No. 1 rebounding and No. 1 offensive rebounding team.

[tooler]

I wasn’t tracking the offensive rebounding until this thread. Have the coaches mentioned it as a point of emphasis or was this a surprise?

[rcklsscognition]

Crowd was great tonight considering it was preseason. Good sign of things to come.

There are so many new screens in the KIA it’s such a drastic change from last season. So much more visibility for stats and replays.

Leaving the preseason I’m most pleased by WCJ, Jase being a close 2nd. Those 6 assists looked so natural.

Bane’s gravity was very noticeable coming out of the half, I’m just hoping that he can shoot this year.

[rcklsscognition]

on another note was anybody paying attention to PA Announcer? how did #2 perform?

I didn’t see the first guy, if he was the guy that filled in for Paul last year, than tonight’s guy was light years better.

I found the guy tonight to be pretty smooth and calm. He seemed more in the background. I don’t remember any parts where he tried to hype up the crowd. He said the Spanish names with some interesting flair.

They did axe the Star Wars 4th quarter and they also replaced the Let’s go Magic throughout the game with a very ominous sounding synth which I liked a lot.

[dsg2021]

Awesome game to watch as Coach Mosely basically played it like a regular season game with the rotations and minutes.

-
Tyus Jones had his best preseason game. There were a couple passes that were essentially assists, such as one that led to Franz Wagner going 2 for 2 on the FT line. So his 5 assists to 1 TO really felt like 6 or 7 assists to 1 TO. Ridiculous.
His whole mindset was captured in one drive where the ball was fumbled from hitting the defender’s leg a little or something. Tyus could have recovered it and have a good chance at the layup drive. But he literally let it go out of bounds to reset the Magic offense. And as noticed in other Preseason games, I’ve been shocked at how serviceably decent he has been on defense with great team-defense level understanding and no-gamble positioning.

-
About the “Magic Big 3”, Franz and Paolo looked really good, especially Franz. But I confess to just taking them for granted tonight. They are All-NBAers already. Franz is a gold medal champion already.
Desmond Bane didn’t shoot the 3 ball well, but still did 3-5 in 2P%. But more importantly was something David Steele very astutely said, that literally every single 3 ball miss by Bane was exactly short, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing up into the air. Steele said it might be a sign of conditioning waiting to catch up a little bit more (it’s Preseason as well anyways), but you don’t miss that many 3’s in a row in the same exact way without being some type of sniper on other nights. It’s clear the mechanics and form are perfect. More importantly, Bane and Tyus are keeping defenders 1 or 2 steps further out to the perimeter than seasons past for the Magic. That will be a huge help for us.

-
WCJ had a lightning quick catch-and-rise-up into a midrange shot right around the FT line in the 1st quarter, bouncing in. That pretty much summarized his new aggressive stance and really great preseason.
I lowkey would not mind it at all if WCJ became a little bit of a blackhole/scorer mentality on offense like our once upon a time Brandon Bass. Maybe not quite that far, but the idea is there. Because I only see good things if WCJ is aggressive this season. Heck, pull up tape of Ryan Anderson and Andrew Nicholson while we’re at it, for more awesome 4th option type Magic big men on offense. And better than any of them, WCJ had 6 assists in a sign of someone who will help the starters.

-
JI’s best preseason game as well! It made me wonder because he was playing with some Starters for most of it, and even alongside WCJ where Wendell got 2 Assists to JI. So it wasn’t full 5-man bench lineups. Maybe that’s a key to motivate him, have him staggered into mixed starters lineups.

-
Jase looked really good again! The hustle play/under leg pass is a preseason clip that I hope doesn’t get missed in YouTube highlight videos later into the season, haha. But more than that, that same efficient, high IQ, in-control style of play was there, all while SOMEHOW still carrying it over into more of an on-ball player for the offense TOO.
I know young players look really good in Preseason all the time just to fall back into the pecking order in the regular season, but to be honest, I’m kind of off the 50/50 fence at this point, and right onto the side that says Jase Richardson looks like a bit of a star player to me. I’m already thinking about what if we found a poor man’s James Harden or Tyrese Maxey off the bench. For instance, the young James Harden’s three OKC seasons were around 26 MPG, 13 PPG, 3 APG, 3 RPG on 44, 37, and 83 percentages. But the impact was larger than those stats, and the PER was 17+ which is not easy for a young guard. Jase copied Harden's 4 APG season in OKC well tonight. Not necessarily similar skillsets on offense, as Harden is on another level outside of just strong shooting, but the statistical comparison and impact could be there.

-
The increased, fast pace idea looked pretty good tonight with the whole team. It backfired in the 3rd quarter with two lead losses iirc, but Associate Coach Prunty said what the eyes saw too, the starters were more tired by the late 2nd quarter and in the 2nd half. Getting better with the new pace over time, using the bench to 10-12 men, it should be very good.
Because the fast pace otherwise controlled the game pretty well. And it could definitely help all of the players to get more comfortable and more confident on offense too, even if we probably want to slow it down later into the season or in the playoffs. Because I still much more prefer a slower, bullying pace in the playoffs, generally speaking. It fits the Magic very well.
Maybe mixing up the two paces kind of helps master them 110%. But I always put this coaching stuff as my last paragraph because who am I to call the strategy from here. I look at other people’s thoughts in here for that too.

[dsg2021]

on another note was anybody paying attention to PA Announcer? how did #2 perform?

I didn’t see the first guy, if he was the guy that filled in for Paul last year, than tonight’s guy was light years better.

I found the guy tonight to be pretty smooth and calm. He seemed more in the background. I don’t remember any parts where he tried to hype up the crowd. He said the Spanish names with some interesting flair.

They did axe the Star Wars 4th quarter and they also replaced the Let’s go Magic throughout the game with a very ominous sounding synth which I liked a lot.

Yeah, I found this 2nd Announcer more smooth too. More similar to Paul Porter, without the legendary voice.

I would kind of love the 1st Announcer's over the top voice in some huge 4th quarter moments and clutch type plays, but not necessarily for the 70% rest of the game. It doesn't fit the Orlando crowd and the arena that literally has a lounge cafe on court level, and a whole middle bowl that feels like a lounge too. I don't know, maybe the idea with the 1st Announcer is to throw a bunch more energy into the games. But I liked the 2nd Announcer more.

[dsg2021]

Anyone have the preseason numbers on banes 3pt shoot in previous years? Is he normally a slow starter?

Mixed bag.

Last year: 9/24 for 37.5%
23-24: 14/29 for 48.3%
22-23: 6/25 for 24.0%
21-22: 11/28 for 39.3%

The volume difference is a bit striking. He is leaps and bounds better at paint penetration and facilitating then kcp ever was. And one thing I have noticed is Wendell has been able to get wide open on the rolls after screening for bane more so then I have ever seen before (example those 2 Issac alley opps). So we'll see how it plays out.

[TheChaser]

It's going to be hard to not play Jase man

Fosho

[TheChaser]

Anyone have the preseason numbers on banes 3pt shoot in previous years? Is he normally a slow starter?

Mixed bag.

Last year: 9/24 for 37.5%
23-24: 14/29 for 48.3%
22-23: 6/25 for 24.0%
21-22: 11/28 for 39.3%

I think part of the Bane effect is showing up in our offensive scoring taking such a huge leap this preseason. Teams have to pay attention and account for him and it’s opening up shots for other guys.

[Rainwater]

If Franz and Paolo can maintain their efficiency and the team as a whole improves their 3 point shooting this will be a special season.

[CarraT]

Anyone have the preseason numbers on banes 3pt shoot in previous years? Is he normally a slow starter?

Mixed bag.

Last year: 9/24 for 37.5%
23-24: 14/29 for 48.3%
22-23: 6/25 for 24.0%
21-22: 11/28 for 39.3%

I think part of the Bane effect is showing up in our offensive scoring taking such a huge leap this preseason. Teams have to pay attention and account for him and it’s opening up shots for other guys.

Havent seen much of the preseason but his gravity alone should open up A LOT of driving lanes for Franz and Paolo. I expect a huge growth in effectivity from them, while Bane´s production wont be close to what he did in MEM, more around like 16-18 ppg. But team success will be there and thats what matters.

[SOUL]

Read on Twitter

[zaymon]

Read on Twitter

No disrespect to jesse murymes but....prunty seems like he actually knows what he's talking about

Prunty is one of our biggest aquisitions. Good that he also has more overall skill to work with this season.
I like that we go for more offensive rebounds. We have size for that.
Jase is good but he will mostly learn from Tyus this year

[GelbeWand09]

Anyone have the preseason numbers on banes 3pt shoot in previous years? Is he normally a slow starter?

Mixed bag.

Last year: 9/24 for 37.5%
23-24: 14/29 for 48.3%
22-23: 6/25 for 24.0%
21-22: 11/28 for 39.3%

The volume difference is a bit striking. He is leaps and bounds better at paint penetration and facilitating then kcp ever was. And one thing I have noticed is Wendell has been able to get wide open on the rolls after screening for bane more so then I have ever seen before (example those 2 Issac alley opps). So we'll see how it plays out.

I don't care at all how he shot so far because 1st for me the most important thing this team needed was dribble penetration by the guards even before a high volume 3point shooter. Bane improves that by a mile.
2nd for players like him shooting droughts are just much less negative impactful because it doesn't change how they are defended. Even if Banes got a bad shooting month nobody gonna let him open or gonna help of off him or gambles to go under the screen.
3rd He is gonna start to hit them anyway over time.

[pepe1991]

I was curious about preseason as there is clear decline in games played over years. Magic in 2016-17 played 7 preseason games. In 2014-15 Magic played 8 preseason games.

Now teams play 3-4-5 most.

And it seems like it's only thing about nba were league doesn't force teams into their rules. Basically, most games are pre-arranged years in advance, and you can play 0 games if you want. 8 is maximum league allows.

Tbh this is even more confusing to me, because some teams elect to play back to back preseason games on their own volition. That's wild.
Why would you arrange game ( Houston vs Atlanta ) just to elect to play 39 years old guy 37 min in last preseason game to stay below 9 men used? That is really wild.
Why would you play your young star starter 35 min and your veteran who is btw injury prone 31 min in preseason ? Blazers did both. With several players.

Anyway, just one more day and preseason is over and we can watch some real basketball.

I would prefer playing at least one "real" preseason game vs actually equally interesting & engaged opponents, like OKC or Bucks or Warriors.
Because lineup of 76ers, Heat, Pelicans was just limp. For start, non of them is projected to have good season, and all of them have massive injuries heading into season + they still elected to hold back very few talented players they actually have. With Pelicans game being closest thing to actual game, yet even they still played 3 rookies for half of a game.

I guess i just need to be patient and wait for first game of regular season. I've seen enough Walker Kessler & Andre Drummond 3s for my lifetime in span of several days


btw that Bane shooting stuff is irrelevant in preseason. I don't know why that is even topic of conversation. He should be more of facilitator & playmaker, didn't really show much in preseason, but once again, that is also irrelevant. Everything good or bad is irrelevant. They all start with 0,0,0,0 on 0/0 shots on first night. Preseason is light sparring. Nothing more.

[GelbeWand09]

Franz looks like our best player

He is since halfway through his rookie season.

[Ducklett]

First time ever the Magic are undefeated in the pre-season. That is kind of crazy...

[pepe1991]

First time ever the Magic are undefeated in the pre-season. That is kind of crazy...

Nop. 8-0 in 2009-10

[tooler]

Just watching some highlights on Twitter from the game last night and almost every play is a hockey assist by Bane.

[davey_wavy]

Facial Haired Franz & Montrezl Harrell Carter Jr looking good.