The season opener sees the Orlando Magic defeat the Houston Rockets.
The biggest opening-night victory in Magic history, with 30
points
It was only fitting that the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets, two clubs that have been rebuilding for the past few years in an effort to advance one or more levels in their
individual development, play on opening night.
No matter what stage of the season it is or
where it is played, nothing can be said or concluded from a single game, but
this matchup between these two teams undoubtedly appeared like a decent
yardstick for both.
If this is true, the Magic have a lot to be happy about after winning 116-86 on Wednesday. They
played with the ideal level of effort and looked great on defense. The team's
biggest winning margin in an inaugural game is thirty points, which is a record
for the unit.
Forward Jonathan Isaac characterized his team's performance as "extremely (proud)."
"How are we progressing? That's just our thinking. Could we maintain our
concentration and intensity for the full forty-eight minutes?
Orlando limited Houston, which signed multiple
free agents in the offseason, including Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet, to
just 32 points in the paint. Houston was eliminated from the team. It had a
56-31 rebounding advantage over the Rockets.
Given that Houston finished fourth in rebounds and sixth in points in the paint the previous season,
these statistics are noteworthy.
The Magic's bench,which defeated the Rockets' reserves 59-27, was equally excellent. In his first
regular-season game since last February, Isaac was stifling defensively while
scoring 11 points, while Cole Anthony, who inked a contract extension on
Tuesday, scored a game-high 20 points.
Anthony stated of the second unit, "We did
our thing." "I felt that we brought a strong defensive presence when
we entered. We altered the game early and got off to a strong lead, in my
opinion, as a team.Being on the victorious side of the court felt fantastic.
With 19 points,Franz Wagner topped all of the starters, and Paolo Banchero piled on the
points, rebounds, assists, and steals with 12 points.
Orlando maintained control of the game for the most part, with the exception of the first few
minutes of the third quarter, when Houston closed the gap after falling behind
by 17 points at the half. Nevertheless, the Magic quickly regained control,
defeating the Rockets 24-7 to end the half.The Magic's potential to be
among the top 10 defensive teams this season was a hot topic of conversation
throughout the summer and even more so throughout training camp. Remember, this
is only one game.Whether all of this effort and vigor will translate
remains to be seen. The Magic begin a four-game road trip to the West Coast on
Friday in Portland.