Magic encouraged by summer league showings from rookies Anthony Black, Jett Howard
LAS VEGAS — Following his summer league debut for the Orlando Magic, first-round draft pick Jett Howard stressed the importance of being more efficient on the court.
The 6-8 guard-forward shot 3-for-13 from the floor and finished with 8 points in 29 minutes as the Magic opened Las Vegas summer league with an 89-78 loss against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
Although he didn’t shoot as well as he would have liked, Howard’s effort went beyond trying to score. The Michigan product made his presence known on defense by recording 3 steals, which caught the attention of Magic summer league coach Dylan Murphy.
“Great credit to Jett,” Murphy said after practice Sunday. “Defensively, he was in the right spots and he gave great effort. His care factor has been really high since the start of summer league practice and through the first game.
“Obviously he’s still learning and growing. He’ll get better every game and we’re all very proud of how he played the first game.”
Magic guard Kevon Harris said Howard shouldn’t worry about how he shot the ball. It was, of course, just his first summer league game.
“Jett’s going to score the ball,” Harris said. “He’s a high-level player and he has all three levels. He’s going to find his rhythm out there.”
Harris likes the way Howard defends and knows there’s room for him to improve on both ends of the court.
“He’s versatile out there,” the two-way guard said. “He’s vocal but he’s just got to keep going.”
Magic rookies Black, Howard showcase skillsets in summer league debuts
Harris and Caleb Houstan, last year’s No. 32 pick, enjoyed the experience playing for the first time alongside Howard and fellow lottery pick Anthony Black.
“They’re two guys who are really easy to play with,” Houstan said. “Both [are] two-way players on defense and offense and they’re both just good guys.
“They played well and I’m excited to continue to play with them.”
Houstan expanded on Black’s first summer league performance that saw him finish with 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes.
“He makes everyone’s job easier,” Houstan said. “Being able to get into the paint and make easy passes or finish for himself, he’s just really easy to play with.”
Harris said he loves playing with Black and described him as a competitor.
“I feel like he does everything on the court out there,” he said. “He defends well and he sees the floor at a high level. The more reps and experience he gets, the game will slow down a little bit more for him. He’s great to play with.”
The Magic held practice Sunday and return to the court for their second summer league game Monday night against Indiana (8:30 p.m., NBA TV) inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
Murphy discussed the difficulty of making adjustments with just one day between games.
“Part of pro basketball is that you have to take a lot of what happens on film and be able to apply it without necessarily having practice time to do it on the floor,” he said. “It’s a great learning experience for our rookies and we’ll see how it translates against Indiana.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
