The Magic are already impressing on defense

Defensive specialist in Dallas before taking charge of the Magic for his first experience as head coach, Jamahl Mosley wanted above all to build its project around defense. Two years after taking office, the process is continuing. As has been the case since 2021, Orlando is a team that plays hard and knows how to defend. And with a little more talent and collective experience, his group is now able to annoy anyone.

Even if the Floridians’ first two opponents, Houston and Portland, are not the thunderbolts of war, Jamhal Mosley’s troops signed two good defensive performances with only 86 and 97 points conceded, a mini feat in today’s league today.

Spearhead of the Pistons of the 2000s, a team with an equally strong defensive identity, Chauncey Billups recognized the Magic’s ability to stifle their opponents on this side of the floor.

“The size and scope they have is incredible. Truly, it’s incredible”, slipped the Portland coach after the meeting dominated by Orlando. “You don’t usually find that type of size and scope with such a tough game. So that helps. They play together, you can see that he enjoys doing it, it flutters all over the place. You’re never safe with this kind of guy. It’s always like that, if you want to be a great defensive team, you have to play with a lot of physical intensity, and that’s what they do.”

The closed double-turn racket

Before that, the new coach of the Rockets, Ime Udoka had also noted the progress of the Magic on these points which are the strength of Jamahl Mosley’s team with elements like Wendell Carter Jr and Jonathan Isaac.

“They were the team that played the hardest. They had every foul ball, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. They were the aggressors in this match. We knew the Magic were going to play like that. It was their “Opening Night” at home, as expected. But I didn’t expect us to give in to this physical dimension.”

Beyond the state of mind and commitment, Orlando particularly shone in these two matches by defending its racket with only 38 points conceded in the paint against Portland, a figure which fell to 32 against Houston! This says a lot about the Magic’s desire to close access to the circle. The pressure then falls on the opposing shooters, who, in the first two matches, were unable to take over to be able to compete. This was particularly the case in Portland, deprived of Anfernee Simons and which did not find an alternative on the outside shot, between the very complicated match of Scoot Henderson and the 4/11 of Shaedon Sharpe in the exercise.

“We are a defensive team. For us, it’s about setting the tone straight away on defense and letting the opponent know that we’re going to protect our circle.”, emphasized Jamahl Mosley. »I just think the guys decided to tell themselves that he was going to defend hard to make the game more defensive, because that’s what you have to do to win away from home.”

The intensity and opposition will now go up a notch with a first “back-to-back” trip to Los Angeles to face the Lakers tomorrow evening and the Clippers on Tuesday.