Orlando Looked Comfortable, And Tristan Da Silva Made The Bench Matter

I don't want to get carried away talking about Orlando like we just learned they're winning the East from beating Memphis in October, but I did like how many dudes actually contributed. Tristan da Silva led them with 19 points and five boards, hit four threes, and did it coming off the bench. Paolo only had 11, but he handed out five assists in 15 minutes. Franz Wagner didn't really have a big scoring game, yet he still had seven assists in limited time. Orlando won 122-118, and I almost like that the box score isn't just two star names with everything else sitting at four points. Jamal Cain had 15, Wendell Carter Jr. had 13, and they actually had a lot of different ways to keep things moving. Memphis had Cameron Boozer put up 16 and six in 22 minutes, and Ty Jerome gave them 17. That matters too because this wasn't a game where the other side was completely dead.

This is one of those games that makes me think more about assist props and second-unit scoring than the usual everybody-bet-Paolo conversation. If Franz can get other dudes involved without shooting well, that still tells me something about his role. If da Silva's actually going to get meaningful touches behind that frontcourt, I want to know whether those four made threes came from designed looks that keep happening or just a hot preseason night. Because 4-for-10 from deep is useful, but nobody should be taking one game and projecting 40 percent on ten attempts all season. Same with Boozer — 16 and six from a rookie is something to remember, but he needs regular NBA minutes and a real role before we start treating him like a reliable FanDuel play. The whole point is tracking what the coaches are doing now, then seeing which parts survive when these games actually count. Orlando gave me more questions worth asking than most exhibition games do.

The stars matter. The guys around them decide how far it can go.6IX / WHAT I'M WATCHING