Orlando Magic's Bench Pulling Weight to Begin Season
ORLANDO - How a team performs when its starters are out of the game goes a long way toward determining how successful a team can be. For the Orlando Magic, its bench has been one of the best to begin the season.
Through its first three games, Orlando's bench has outscored its opponents by an average of 45.33-27.33. The Magic (2-1) bench put together another strong performance on Monday, outscoring the Los Angeles Lakers' bench 39-18, though they suffered their first loss of the 106-103 at Crypto.com Arena.
"That was huge," Markelle Fultz said. "When those guys step on the court, we don't see a drop-off. We see the same or even better and they showed it tonight...They all go in and make a big impact on the game when we need those some nights. Some nights we're going to have the starters going [and] some nights we might not be going.
"To have a bench that can come in and leave where we just left off or even do better, it's huge for us...They're ready for the moment and we believe whoever is on the court is going to be good enough to go out there and play."
Cole Anthony is second on the team in points per game.
© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Cole Anthony has led the charge off the bench, averaging 15 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Anthony is the team's second-leading scorer, only trailing Franz Wagner, who's averaging 18 points per game.
Gary Harris Jr. has also stepped up off the bench, averaging 10 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Harris put together his best performance of the season against the Lakers with 17 points while shooting 6-6 from the field, including five 3-pointers.
"Some days, it's going to be on us to provide that spark," Harris said. "The starters, they do a great job...Just being great teammates, whether that's us cheering on the bench, cheering hard, seeing what we see, being able to relay that to the guys on the floor, or whether that's us going out there getting stops [and] being able to provide that spark."
Jonathan Isaac has also been a key contributor off the bench, including an 11-point performance in Orlando's season-opener on Wednesday when they beat the Houston Rockets 116-86.
Even in a losing effort to the Los Angeles Clippers, in which Isaac sat, Orlando's bench outscored its opponent 43-39.
Orlando's bench will prove to be key when it faces the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center tomorrow night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
