The Orlando Magic could not close the door on their home floor in their season opener against the Atlanta Hawks, losing 132-125. Despite crawling back by as many as 14 points, a pair of clutch Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3-pointers gave the Magic their first loss of the season.
There's no reason to overreact to the first game, especially when the 82-game is long and daunting with plenty of peaks and valley's. But that's not going to stop us!
What was our biggest overreaction from Game 1? We asked our team, and here are their thoughts!
Jeremy Brener:
People will be shining a light on Sean Sweeney as the new key arrival for the Magic that wasn't able to get a win in his coaching debut. That's simply unfair.
The offense took massive strides compared to last season and looked extremely dynamic. The defense was worrisome, but it was headlined by some silly turnovers in the second quarter and poor coverage of the Magic on the Hawks perimeter in the fourth.
Atlanta is a sneaky team with several good scorers and you can't take many, if any, possessions off. Orlando got beat by a good team, and in a stretch at the beginning of the season against some high-level squads, things could look bad on the surface, when in reality, the Magic are building a foundation to set themselves up for the rest of the season.
Matt Hanifan:
Is Paolo Banchero bound to have the best statistical season of his career?
Understandably, there's a microscope on the former No. 1 overall pick after a down season last year. But he looked completely dominant, despite the result, scoring a game-high 35 points on 12 shots to go along with seven rebounds and a game-high 10 dimes.
As I brushed on in my takeaways, I loved his willingness to get involved as a roller, which set up the rest of his game. If he can continue this downhill aggression in an expanded sample, there's a real opportunity for the soon-to-be 24-year-old to make his second career All-Star game. The Magic's offense executed quite well, and Banchero was the biggest reason why.
Ethan J. Skolnick
Does Jalen Suggs need to be replaced, first in the starting lineup and eventually on the roster?
Well, maybe that's a reasonable question, considering that the guard has now missed 22 of his last 27 shots, dating back to the last two postseason games against Detroit -- and it's actually 39 of 49 if you go back a little further.
And maybe it's reasonable to consider on both counts. Orlando can't succeed in any significant way if its lead guard is someone the opponent wants to leave completely open. But it's a little early to bury Suggs for this season; let's see how the first 10 games go. If he's still struggling to this degree, then maybe you look at Anthony Black with the starting group. And yes, quietly see if upgrades become available.
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