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MANILA, Philippines – In what could have been his much-awaited debut in the NBA Summer League, Kai Sotto rode the bench the whole 40 minutes as the Orlando Magic opened their campaign with an 89-78 loss to the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 8 (Sunday, July 9, Manila time).
Sotto was one of six Magic players who failed to get playing time in the contest as Orlando’s Summer League head coach Dylan Murphy relied heavily on a 10-man rotation.
With the 7-foot-3 Sotto on the bench, Orlando had no answers for Detroit’s twin towers of Jalen Duren and James Wiseman, who led the Pistons with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
The seven-foot Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, also grabbed a game-high 11 boards as the Pistons outrebounded the much-smaller Magic, 46-30.
Detroit’s rising star Jaden Ivey had an all-around performance of 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals, while Ausar Thompson, the fifth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, also filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks.
With the score knotted at 43-all at halftime, the Magic failed to keep in step with the Pistons early in the second half and trailed by as many as 12 points, 56-68, with 8:37 to play in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Black, the sixth pick in this year’s draft, came alive and spearheaded Orlando’s quick 10-0 rally to cut Detroit’s lead back to just 2 points, 68-66, but that was the closest the Magic could ever get as they simply ran out of gas in the endgame.
Kevon Harris dropped 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Black finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals for the Magic in the loss.
Caleb Houstan, a 6-foot-8 undersized power forward who played a game-high 30 minutes and 45 seconds, added 12 points, while 6-foot-11 big man Robert Baker Jr. – the second tallest player in Orlando’s roster next to Sotto – chipped in 8 markers in close to 15 minutes of action.
Five-year NBA veteran DJ Wilson, who stands at 6-foot-10, meanwhile, failed to make the most of his 26-minute playing time for Orlando at the center spot as he missed all his four attempts from the field and tallied just 4 points and 3 rebounds.
Sotto will look to make his on-court debut when the Magic take on the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, July 11 at 8:30 am, Manila time. – Rappler.com
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