"The problem with Larsson's night is what happened when the Magic had the ball. Larsson looked lost defensively and at times looked like he had gone to Spirit Halloween and picked out a traffic cone as his costume. It contributed to Larsson racking up five fouls in those 21 minutes and finishing with a plus/minus of -17, 2nd worst on the Heat behind the -22 Precious Achiuwa put up."
"The one play that sums up Larsson's night on the defensive end came at the end of the third quarter when he came out to challenge Orlando big man Colin Castleton in the corner and watched as Castleton blew right by him to the rim. Mind you, this is the same Colin Castleton who has been bouncing around the league, has just 42 career NBA games in three seasons, and just got cut by Toronto this past offseason before landing with Orlando."
"Summer hype is fading Larsson's night wouldn't raise eyebrows if you just looked at his usage from last season, as these kind of sturggles would be expected from a 2nd year player who is a back end of the bench type of guy. But it was the massive summer Larsson had that gave some hope that he could contend for 20+ minutes a night."
Pelle Larsson scored 14 points, shooting 2-for-4 from three and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in 21 minutes during a preseason game against Orlando. He committed five fouls and finished with a -17 plus/minus, the second-worst on the Heat. Larsson showed significant defensive lapses, at times appearing lost and failing to contain opponents' drives, including allowing Colin Castleton to blow by him to the rim. Strong Summer League play and a successful EuroBasket stint had elevated expectations for increased minutes, but struggles against NBA main rosters have cast doubt on securing a rotation spot for 2025-26.
Read at All U Can Heat
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