Tristan da Silva, Magic Moving Forward After Pistons Disappointment

The Orlando Magic are picking up the pieces after losing 106-92 against the Detroit Pistons despite having a lead after the first half.

Magic forward Tristan da Silva had a strong performance with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, but he was disappointed after the game due to the loss. da Silva spoke about what changed between the first and second halves.

“I mean, we kind of had a flow in the first half, and I feel like maybe we thought that the baskets that we can generate, you know, in the half court and then in transition would come easy. You know, and I feel like they’re too good of a team and have proven that throughout the season so far that it’s not easy to score on them, and we kind of took some early shots," da Silva said.

"Maybe some shots that weren't necessarily in rhythm or weren’t necessarily open at the rim and, you know, it makes it hard on us because then that’s fast break opportunities for them when they get a blocked shot or a shot that kind of leads to a break.”

Same Problem Permeates Throughout Magic Loss

Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane shoots a three-point basket against Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Magic are usually one of the better teams in the NBA when it comes to not turning the ball over. They rank 7th in the league with just 13.8 turnovers per game; however, that number was 19 in their latest loss against the Pistons. Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley always gets frustrated when the team turns over the ball too much and this latest loss was no exception.

“26 points off turnovers. So that’s, you know... the numbers are basically because of the transition. They were getting layups. So, it’s hard to keep them out of the paint when it’s wide open in transition. So, it was turnovers that led to those. You know, some of it was, we got to do a better job of our close outs, understanding who we’re closing out to," Mosley said.

"They’re an attack middle team that wants to get downhill and get to the paint. You know, we’ve got to do a better job of that. You know we did a good job on Duncan Robinson and taking out the three, but then our ability to contain the basketball and those situations and not turn it over.”

On top of that, the Magic struggled to attack the paint, which is usually one of their bigger strengths. It was a matchup between Pistons all-star big man Jalen Duren and the Magic offense in the paint. It's safe to say Duren and the Pistons centers came out on top.

"They had somebody there all the time. Their low man was present each time we attacked the basket. You stopped the film, and you pause it at any time they got three and four guys around you. Now, we did have some wide open sprays, some wide open looks that, you know, they just didn’t go down at the right moment," Mosley said.

"And when those long shots go up and there’s a long rebound, they were off to the races. And so again, we got to do a better job of getting downhill, knowing how much of a crowd is there and being able to pass it out and keep trusting that pass. But when you get down there and you can finish, you have to finish.”

There's a reason why the Pistons are in first place in the Eastern Conference, and they play extremely well on the defensive side of the ball. It's somewhere the magic hope to achieve someday soon, but it is very difficult when the team is not fully healthy.

The Magic will take to the court tomorrow when they face off against the Washington Wizards. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center. Fans can watch the game on FanduelSports.org or stream it on NBA League Pass.