04:30am Thursday Morning

Well, that was fun.

We can’t pretend like we were expecting it to be a barn-burner going in. A team in the Heat who probably fall under the category of “oh yeah, I guess they’ll be in the playoffs too” going up against a Magic team coming off a 25 win season. Not exactly a must-watch glamour match up. It turned out, much to my pleasure, that this game was, at points, a genuine joy to watch. Yes, neither the Magic or the Heat shot the ball well (41.5% and 39.2% respectively) and there were silly turnovers everywhere, but the level of intensity throughout the game was hot, hot, hot. It’s only one game, but Magic fans will have a lot of positives (and indeed negatives) to take from this one as the season begins.

General acknowledgements

Boy, do those classic jerseys look amazing on-court and in-motion. A lovely shade of blue which pops really well off the boards of the Amway Center. A seriously inspired comeback for one of the leagues most iconic jerseys. Bravo.

Along with the jersey came the return of, in my opinion, the best male-female Dutch-Belgian techno duo from the 1990’s, 2 Unlimited and their basketball anthem “Get Ready For This”. A belter by anyone’s standards.

Here is a look at some of the pregame hype video for @OrlandoMagic prior to taking on the @MiamiHEAT. pic.twitter.com/b4QrrQSq7R — John Denton (@JohnDenton555) October 17, 2018

It would’ve been nice to have a throwback floor to go along with the rest of the retro goodness but ah well, can’t win them all.

The Amway Center crowd was hot from the opening tip. There was still the odd “lets go Heat” chant ringing out, but when the Magic got hot and started to go on some runs of their own, the crowd was fully behind them and it was great to hear.

Aaron Gordon – Frenetic Finesse



Aaron Gordon played the way the Magic needed him to tonight – like a team leader determined to cause problems and make his team mates better. He finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 2 assists, and looked undoubtedly like the best player on the floor while doing it. He got to show off his athleticism with some terrific under the basket dunks, and his presence on the boards was crucial in subduing the ever-present threat of Hassan Whiteside on the defensive and offensive glass.

Gordon and Bamba on the court together looked like a real killer combination going forward. The Heat could not live with them at all on the glass and the two of them looked like they were having all kinds of fun. It was infectious, and Gordon helped elevate the second unit to turn an early 14 point deficit on its head. His shot selection is still a work in progress – he sure does love his deep 2-point shots off the bounce – but even when it didn’t fall you felt good watching him. I asked in my my quasi-season-preview: “How good can a team with Aaron Gordon as their best player be?” After one game, you can’t ask for a much better answer.

Vucevic and Bamba – A situation to watch

The story of this game was that of a team of two halves – a nervy and slightly uncoordinated first unit, and a bench that came to seriously play. This was no better demonstrated than in the performances from Nikola Vucevic and Mo Bamba tonight. On the face of it, the stats make it look pretty even: 12-8-4 for Vucevic and 13-7-0 for Bamba, but this is where looking at the stats can be misleading.

Anyone who watched this game will tell you that when Vucevic was off the floor and Bamba was on it, the entire rhythm of the team improved greatly. The Magic looked sharper, quicker, lengthier, and all together simply better with Nikola off the floor.

Mo looked like a natural, and it is genuinely staggering how much better his offense has been than advertised. He was agile enough to drive past Olynyk for a lay-up for his first NBA points, his terrific timing on the offensive boards gave him two easy putbacks, and his 3-pointer, it turns out, is a genuine weapon. He brought a true level of excitement to the Amway, and when the Magic went on their big run in the second half, it was Bamba on the putback dunk that brought the largest roar of the game.

For Vucevic, it wasn’t all negative by any means. His much maligned defense was actually pretty capable in the first quarter, and there were a few sets where it looked like he was playing much smarter than his past self. This did, however, prove to be only fleeting, as his reintroduction in the 4th quarter undermined the level of intensity on both sides of the ball that had been fostered so well with him on the bench. In the last minutes of the game, the Magic looked like they could play for the next ten years and still not score a field goal. The uncertainty and lack of coordination on offense led to frustrating turnovers and a disjointed defense. His overall contribution to the game is perhaps best summed up by Vucevic’s most damning stat: his plus-minus of -17, the worst in the game.

If Twitter is anything to go by, the calls for a Vucevic trade and a starting place for Bamba are already mounting, and it is sure going to be interesting to see how Steve Clifford and the coaching staff handle these two centers for the rest of the season.

Mo Bamba does it on both ends in his NBA debut, posting 13 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK for the @OrlandoMagic! #NBARooks #PureMagic #KiaTipOff18 pic.twitter.com/Mhac4bJSrX — NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2018

Fournier – Energetically wasteful

Oh, Evan. Poor, sweet Evan.

It just was not his night. From the tip, it was clear he was putting in a shift – frantically running up and down the court, trying to get past screens and open himself up but the shots just were not falling. The whole team certainly showed a great deal of effort (even Vucevic, despite me ragging on him for the last five or so paragraphs), and Fournier was no different, but for me every time he got the ball there was a feeling of “I really wish it was someone else taking this shot”.

He’s always been streaky, so it’s unfair to throw him under the bus and declare him a spare part. But as the Magic’s premier shooting guard and perimeter threat, he will have to harness tonight’s frenetic energy into made shots if this first unit is going to cause problems for other teams.

Terrence Ross – The Unsung Hero

Terrence Ross was simply phenomenal. He typified the selfless, energetic defense of the second unit and showed us all just what the Magic were missing last season. He finished with 4 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 Steals. He was absolutely everywhere, and while 2-9 shooting is not ideal (just one among a field of poor shooting performances from this game), his pace and cleverness off and on the ball created openings for his teammates around him, posting a plus minus of +16, bested only by Dragic’s +20 for the Heat.

Turnovers, Fouls, Free Throws, and the little things.

When it came down to the wire, this game hinged on the little things. It was Isaac’s length that caused such problems on the Heat’s final possession leading to the game winning turnover, but frankly they shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.

FREE. THROWS.

61.3% from the stripe is truly atrocious. It’s not even necessarily the easy points on the board that were being missed that was the main issue- every clanked free throw seemed to give the Heat more and more confidence. This was especially true down the stretch when they knew that they could send the Magic to the line with little or no repercussions. The Magic have, shall we say, a delicate relationship with free throws in the past (look away, Nick Anderson fans) and their inability to convert from the charity stripe was almost enough to lose them a game which they could have (and perhaps should have) won by double digits.

Early season rustiness was certainly at play for a few of the more boneheaded turnovers and fouls in the game. Gordon wasn’t entirely blameless, a couple of times his desire to force through the opposition led to silly strips which could have been avoided with a little bit of patience. He also was responsible for a silly foul on Richardson on a three point attempt late in the fourth quarter which massively turned up the pressure.

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If this game was anything to go by, this season could turn out to be a pretty fun and exciting ride for Magic fans. Soak it in, the Magic are tied for the number one seed in the east, just as we all expected.

“Should I have skipped it and gone to bed?” Rating: 0/10. A fantastic season opener that brought all of hope, ecstasy, despair and a heart attack.

Let us know how you felt about the season opener, and give us a follow on twitter @TheMagichist for more late night ramblings.