Athletes are often their own harshest critics and if there were ever a time that statement rang true, it was listening to Cole Anthony describe his performance after his first preseason game Friday night with the Orlando Magic.
Anthony tallied seven points, three assists and one rebound in 20 minutes of work off the bench during the 116-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. He shot just 3-of-10 from the field, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, while he committed five fouls and turned the ball over three times.
“I didn’t play well, I’m going to be honest,” Anthony said after the game on a Zoom call with reporters. “I was probably a little nervous out there but once I got into the game, I realized that, at the end of the day, this is basketball and what I love to do. I felt like I got into a little bit of a rhythm, the game started to open up for me but my overall performance was terrible.”
The 15th overall pick took his performance all in stride and vowed to correct his mistakes during film study on Saturday. The opportunity to play did give Anthony a better understanding of where to find his teammates on the floor and how to choose his spots on offense better.
Orlando selected Anthony to inject the offense with another ball-handler that can run the floor and penetrate into the paint. The Magic are better with movement and Anthony gives the team another offensive threat, something he showed brief flashes of on Friday.
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— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 12, 2020
Anthony, like all rookies, has been tasked with learning a new system with the Magic in a condensed time frame. Magic head coach Steve Clifford thought Anthony had his best practice of training camp earlier this week and believes the new information is resonating with him.
Clifford said on Friday that Anthony did some good things on the floor in his first contest against an opposing team. The film study on Saturday will help him make adjustments going into his next game on Sunday against the Hawks again.
Anthony said afterward that he would bounce back and be ready to play on Sunday. The benefit of playing in the NBA, he said, is that there is often a quick turnaround in between games so his “terrible” performance will soon be forgotten…
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