On their best momentum of the last decade, with seven victories in a row and a good second place in the Eastern Conference, the Magic are the big sensation of this start of the season.
Last year, Orlando finished in 13th place in the East. Even if it must be remembered that the team had mainly paid for its completely failed start to the season. Because if the Florida troops were at 5 victories for 20 defeats at the beginning of December, they had managed to balance their record (29 victories – 28 defeats) over the rest of the campaign.
An encouraging alchemy
Hailed by Rick Carlisle who would like his young Indiana flock to learn from the Magic in defense, Jamahl Mosley presents himself as a prime candidate for the trophy for best technician of the year, in his third year in Orlando.
His credo? Work in preparation, constant solidarity and a short memory. Important for a team that fields nine players under the age of 24.
“It’s one of the best bands I’ve ever been in because the guys really care about each other. That’s what convinced me that we could do something separate.” explains Jamahl Mosley in Andscape. “Not only the potential we have on the field, but their ability to stay connected off it. During the summer, they spend time together. It’s done in all teams but here, it’s the entire group! »
Like Goga Bitadze and Joe Ingles, two international players (Georgian and Australian respectively) who have integrated well into the group over the last two seasons, the Magic lives well around its hard core of young nuggets, also international, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
“There is authentic joy for those who are successful. There is no jealousy but pride in encouraging others. It doesn’t matter who it is. That says a lot for such a young group. Everyone shares knowing it’s the right thing to do. »
Tall, toned and physical in all positions, Orlando can hold his own against all his opponents, being able to present solid combinations, whether for “small ball” or “tall ball”.
Stay on track
Even stronger, Jamahl Mosley managed to hook his players to his defensive mentality. With its athleticism, the Magic are quite simply the best defense on the East Coast, with 107.0 points conceded over 100 possessions in the ” Defensive rating“, notably holding 6 of its 17 opponents to 100 points or less this season.
“Coach Mos, I give him all the credit. He came right out of training camp and told us he wanted to make us a top defense,” confirms Paolo Banchero. “This is what we have managed to do so far. Credit goes to the coaches who pushed us to do it and the players for making it happen on the field. »
Well balanced behind its two leaders at 20 points, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, but also its joker Cole Anthony, the Magic team has no less than eight players between five and fifteen points on average to multiply the threats around the two-man monster. heads already offered, and already very versatile!
Are the Magic a surprise in this first quarter of the season? ” Yes and no “, for his coach.
“ We knew how special this group is. Our staff does a great job preparing them. It’s not surprising either because I knew what we were capable of doing. We have a chance to do something special if these guys believe in it. Now they are starting to see how good we can be if we do the right things. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Paolo Banchero | 17 | 33.5 | 48.8 | 43.6 | 65.1 | 1.3 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 19.8 |
| Franz Wagner | 17 | 32.8 | 45.2 | 29.2 | 82.5 | 1.1 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 19.5 |
| Cole Anthony | 17 | 25.9 | 43.0 | 35.8 | 84.5 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 15.0 |
| Moe Wagner | 17 | 19.2 | 62.8 | 36.7 | 83.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 12.5 |
| Jalen Suggs | 16 | 27.1 | 43.5 | 36.2 | 83.3 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 12.4 |
| Markelle Fultz | 5 | 28.6 | 48.2 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 11.4 |
| Wendell Carter, Jr. | 5 | 29.4 | 37.8 | 31.3 | 57.1 | 2.2 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 9.4 |
| Gary Harris | 12 | 20.9 | 49.3 | 42.0 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 8.2 |
| Goga Bitadze | 15 | 19.7 | 57.7 | 0.0 | 70.6 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.1 |
| Jonathan Isaac | 14 | 13.9 | 43.7 | 23.5 | 78.6 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 6.6 |
| Anthony Black | 15 | 18.3 | 44.8 | 23.8 | 66.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| Joe Ingles | 17 | 18.6 | 37.7 | 35.7 | 87.5 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| Caleb Houstan | 10 | 6.9 | 46.7 | 42.9 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.4 |
| Admiral Schofield | 3 | 3.2 | 40.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Chuma Okeke | 7 | 3.9 | 44.4 | 42.9 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Jett Howard | 5 | 4.6 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
