Jan 12, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) reacts after driving to the basket against Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

3 Players who should be better in preseason game #2 for Magic

Originally posted on Orlando Magic on SI
By Johnathan Ramlakhan | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 10:30 AM ET

The Orlando Magic spread out the offense well in their preseason win vs the Miami Heat. As the team gets closer to their season debut on October 22nd, rotations will tighten up, and the players towards the top of that rotation will need to enter the year on the right foot if they want to live up to expectations of being a championship contender

3 players in particular showed some preseason rust and should look to be better in Preseason game #2

Paolo Banchero

In his first game out against the Heat, Paolo flashed what we want him to be during the season. He got to the free-throw line using his speed advantage against bigger players and used his strength advantage against smaller players.

However, with the Magic next year wanting to spread the ball out more, Paolo will need to start hitting on some three-point shots to open up the floor for others and himself.

Additionally, with the Magic having a thin lineup at the Center position, Paolo should look to crash the glass more to prevent second-chance opportunities for the opposing team.

Anthony Black

With no Jalen Suggs to begin the season, Anthony Black will have an elevated role running the offense with the bench. In his first preseason game, Black played an all-around game, but struggled to make a strong impact

As a player whose biggest strength offensively has primarily been inside the paint, he didn’t make a shot inside the three-point line last game, going 1 for 7 overall. To add on to that, he committed a team-high 4 personal fouls.

Although he didn’t have the strongest outing, it’s encouraging to see him have the confidence to continue shooting even when the shots weren’t initially falling

Jonathan Isaac

Going into the second year of his extension deal, Jonathan Isaac will have big shoes to fill with the Magic being thin at the Center position. With the Magic hoping to contend for a championship this year, Isaac should look to have his best season with the Magic thus far

His first preseason game versus the Heat didn’t show the upside that the Magic was looking for. Going 0 for 4 with only 4 rebounds leaves a lot to be desired, and he’ll have the opportunity to improve on his performance soon against the 76ers.

With that being the first game of the season, the Magic have plenty of time to get into regular season form, so look for these players to make improvements game to game as we get closer to game number one.