SUMMER LEAGUE SOUND: COACH AMEER BAHHUR, JASE RICHARDSON & TRISTAN DA SILVA

SUMMER LEAGUE SOUND: COACH AMEER BAHHUR, JASE RICHARDSON & TRISTAN DA SILVA

So, coach, what did you see there down the stretch that kind of gave Toronto? Yeah, I mean, I thought our guys did a heck of a job of battling. Uh, couple sloppy turnovers here and there, a couple missed box outs and, uh, and second chance points we allowed, uh, were probably, you know, the cause of that. But, man, that was a heck of a fight against an experienced team. Uh, a physical, physical game, and I thought our guys did a great job of battling. What did you notice about Jace as the game went on and his toughness? like we said, physical physical game for for his second, you know, experience with these these NBA minutes. Uh his ability to handle the physicality, his ability to get us organized. I mean, you see, uh he he he just has a knack for, you know, finding a bucket when we really needed one. But he did a great job of getting downhill and creating offense for us. So, uh like I said, proud of the way he battled. It’s only been two games. Do you see any improvement between game one and game two for Jayce? Most definitely. Most definitely. I thought, uh the game seemed to slow down a little bit for him. I thought he did a better job of just being patient, getting us into what we were trying to do and and it’s really difficult the way they were playing and the way they were pressing and trapping and I thought he handled it phenomenal. So, yeah, big time growth. You know, his ball handling seems to be really impressive at his size. Is that one of the main things that you’re really noticing and just how far can he go as? Yeah, tell I told him during the game his superpower is his speed and his quickness and his ball handling. So, uh, when he kind of slows down and starts to see the game the way he did today, uh, he can use that superpower and he can create a lot of offense for us and that’s what he did. Does it seem like he moves well for his size? Yeah, he moves very well. Like I said, he’s uh, like his quickness, his speed, that’s his superpower and so he’s got to lean into that offensively, defensively. Uh, but yeah. Yeah. What did you see from Wendell? Oh, he was he was big time for us. Uh, I thought his aggression getting downhill. Uh, I thought, like I said, he handled the pressure the way they were playing and that’s, you know, comes from his experience. Um, but his ability to get downhill and and and create offense for us, his energy on the defensive end. Uh, I thought Wendell was huge for us. How would you best describe your team through two games so far? Man, our team is really resilient. Like I said, we’ve had a lot of adversity within two games. We’ve played two really experienced teams and our guys ability to handle that battle back no matter what the circumstances have been uh have been really impressive. And I told him in there, if we play the way we did today, the rest of the these these three games, I feel great about where we’re at. With Tristan, how much more do you expect him to play? And what did you take away from his first two games here? Uh, yeah, that’ll that’ll be, you know, something we discussing at moving forward. Um, but like I said, I thought Tristan got better today as well. I thought he did a good job being patient. Um, there were times where he was, you know, kind of forced into that primary ball handler role and I thought he handled it well. Um, kind of similar to Wendell, I thought he did a great job getting downhill when we needed him to and making plays for us. So I I thought, you know, Tristan showed growth as well. Is that part of the goal is to get guys like Tristan roll chances in a role he’s not you aren’t going to get come the fall. Yeah, any experience is good experience. Like this experience of him uh handling and being, you know, the main creator will benefit us down as we go through the season. Um cuz we know the ups and downs of the season. We never know what roles guys are going to have to play. So I thought he did a great job with that role. I thought he did a great job when he was off the ball. Um like I said, he’s versatile. So, I think he’s growing in both areas. What did you like from Noah? Like, he kind of stood out as a a guy who just kind of gets it. Yeah, I mean, uh, he’s just got a knack for where to be on the floor. His instincts are phenomenal. I thought his rebounding for us was huge today. Um, his ability to pick up things on the fly. We we played him at the five today, which he had never done before. And so, his ability to just kind of handle that and and and keep moving and jump right into it, I thought was phenomenal. Yeah, you had him more inside like he came in as a wing, but he almost came off like a stretch four kind of guy today for I mean his shot comes there. Yeah, we like I said, his versatility allowed us to use him as another ball handler uh to relieve pressure and bring the ball up the court and he did a great job whether he was at the four, whether he was at the five, he got us into what we needed to do and and uh and he helped us run our offense. So, great job. Thanks, Mayor. Thanks, man. Chase, what did you see there down the stretch that kind of gave Toronto the edge? I think their physicality, I think they came out, they were more physical than us and, you know, they just kind of like out outworked us at the end. Um, but overall it was a super competitive game, super physical game and that’s something we live for. What if anything changed for you in the second half for you to be able to get going offensively? Uh, just getting downhill, um, driving, finishing through contact. I think that was one of the biggest things in the first half. I was trying to shy away from it a little bit. So, just going into the second half, staying aggressive, keeping my mindset, you know, trying to get to the basket. How dangerous are you when you do get downhill like that? I think very dangerous. I think uh I can do a lot of things in that. I can score for myself. I can get my teammates involved. And I feel like just a lot of different ways I can get, you know, a bucket for the team. Coach said it seemed like the game was slow down. Slow down for you between the last game and this one. You notice anything different about the way you played or just the way you’re seeing the game? Uh definitely just uh my pace, you know, not try to get rushed when guys like Jamal She, you know, a top defender in the league, you know, he’s pressuring you. So just taking my time, slowing down, and just seeing what I’m seeing. just pressuring ball handlers off the floor is something that you feel you can really excel at in the NBA. Definitely. I think uh I can improve at it, but I think that’s one of the biggest things I kind of do as a smaller guard in the NBA. You got to stand out some way. So, you know, just picking up pressureing the ball, getting up 94 ft and guarding. What did you notice from Noah today? Super physical today. I mean, he was getting to the basket, getting a lot of great rebounds for us, getting boards, and you know, he was just being super physical defensively, hands everywhere. He was getting a lot of steals, a lot of deflections. So, we need that from him. How unique is it for someone his size to have the ball handling skills that they have? Oh, super. Uh, you know, when a guy’s that big and he’s able to bring up the ball, it’s kind of like a point forward in a way. So, when you have somebody like that who can also bring the ball up, it makes it easier for the rest of the team. Thanks, J. So, what did you see there down the stretch that kind of gave Toronto the edge? Uh, I feel like I feel like it’s it doesn’t come down to the to the last possession of the game. Um, you know, in the beginning of the game, we’re kind of um kind of on our heels uh with their physicality and the way that we’re playing. More worried about the refs than uh than playing playing just as physical, but you know, throughout the second half, we kind of matched that. Um, and that’s what got us back into the game. Uh, but it doesn’t it doesn’t necessarily come down to to the single last possession of the game. You notice Jace leaning into that physicality, getting downhill as the game went on. He’s doing a great job. uh you know especially him being a little lower uh you know he get he gets the edge and then he’s fast so um he gets downhill makes the right plays um so he’s you know he’s been playing really well against that physicality what stood out to you about Noah and the way he moves with his size and ball handling yeah it’s uh it’s nice to see how you know he moves out there and you know gives a little body check every once in a while um he’s a big dude so um He’s uh he’s playing really well, too. Yeah. Where do you feel you’ve improved the most since last season ending? Just being overall more comfortable. Uh you know, I’m trying to trying to make sure that I get my work in and uh you know, um have my handle a little tighter and make sure that I make the right reads coming off of pick and roll situations. Um have the ball a little bit more in my hands. Um and then just being a leader on the floor. You were talking before about Noah’s ball handling and playmaking. You obviously can do the same. just how much of a luxury is it that so many guys on your main team, Orlando, can can do that, especially with so much size? Yeah, multiple threats out there. Um, you know, it’s it’s kind of it’s kind of you got to as a defender, you kind of got to have your head on a swivel and know where everybody is at all times. And um you can’t take possessions off. So, that’s uh you know, that’s that’s a luxury to have um from position one through five uh having people that that can uh make plays. I’m not sure how much more you’ll play here, but what do you think you’ve gotten out of these first two summer league games? Uh I feel like I got some good bump out of it. Um you know, uh we’re trying to trying to kind of see where uh where I’m at in terms of, you know, my improvement and and what we’ve been working on over the summer. Um you know, physically and on the court. And I feel like uh there’s some good influences in there. Um, obviously also stuff to to still improve upon and and learn from this experience. Um, but I feel like this uh this is a really really good thing for me. Thanks for

Subscribe to the Orlando Magic YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NBAOrlandoMagic
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orlandomagic/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@orlandomagic?lang=e
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoMagic/

Subscribe to STUFF’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/STUFFtheMagicMascot

#OrlandoMagic #NBA #ORLMagic