3 takeaways from the Magic's costly preseason finale over Heat

The preseason has come and gone for the Orlando Magic, securing a 136-115 win over the Miami Heat in their preseason finale inside Kia Center Friday night.

As the preseason wraps up, what were a few key takeaways?

Injuries may shake up regular season rotation:

Skinny: Preseason is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that it's the first opportunity to see players ramp up before the start of the regular season. The curse is that there's always a risk of injuries -- specifically soft tissue injuries -- compiling, especially amongst stars.

That was the case with the Magic in their preseason finale Friday. Noah Penda left in the first half with a hamstring injury; Jase Richardson exited with back soreness and Franz Wagner left in the second half with right arm soreness.

All three of those players were expected to start the season in the Magic's rotation. Jamal Cain's performance over the course of the Magic's four games solidified his standing, and Tristan da Silva could see himself moved into the starting lineup if Wagner misses any time.

Alas, there's no word as to whether their injuries are serious. That's not even mentioning Anthony Black's ankle injury, which sidelined him the whole preseason.

Nevertheless, it's frustrating as much as it is discouraging that, once again, we could be faced with a compromised Magic during the regular season.

Magic have to emphasize pace this season:

Skinny: Orlando entered the night in the bottom half in pace, with the second-fewest fastbreak points per 100 possessions and sixth-fewest points-off-turnovers. However, when the Magic have played fast, they have been efficient with their ball movement and decision-making.

That was on full display against a Heat squad without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Orlando outscored the Heat in transition 18-8 in fastbreak points and 21-15 in points-off-turnovers.

Whenever Orlando caught Miami backpedaling and in rotation, they were creating easy looks from 3-point range. Desmond Bane shot 7-of-12 from 3-point range; Jalen Suggs, da Silva and Cain all made multiple threes.

If Orlando has aspirations of becoming an above-average offense, it must emphasize pushing pace. How successful they are in advantageous situations is an attainable margin, and it's one it must consistently win in a bunched East, where teams such as the Toronto Raptors and Heat will take advantage of.

Nikola Vucevic added punch to Magic's second unit

Skinny: "Look at that: UNC's still got it!!!"

Some iteration of those words were probably muttered in the arena and in many living rooms watching this game. Vucevic, who turns 36-years-old next week, scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes.

He missed all three of his 3-pointers, but he scored all five of his baskets in the paint. He was the recepient of multiple dump-offs around the rim and took advantage of a Heat defense that was consistently in rotation.

He's still a liability defensively, which we knew. He can also score the ball at all three levels, which is what we also knew. I don't expect him to score 13 first-half points like he did tonight during the regular season, but if he can even show a glimpse of what he showed tonight as a rim-runner, he will develop good chemistry with Suggs, Richardson and Black.