“ He told me that I would start in front of Franz (Wagner). What he lied about! » Joe Ingles hasn't lost his sense of humor. The Australian suspected that by arriving at the Magic, Jamahl Mosley was not going to sacrifice his young and talented winger to make room for him in his five.
The left-hander may no longer be an indisputable starter, as was the case during his good years in Utah, but he nonetheless remains an appreciated presence within the Magic's young locker room. Three qualifiers come to mind of his coach to describe him: “ Honest. Open. Noisy. »
“ He is absolutely brilliant for this group. He talks frankly to these guys about what we're doing, what he's seeing, what he's seen across the league. And, joking aside, he only thinks about winning. Whether he plays 8 minutes or 18 minutes, he preaches the same message to this group about what we have to do to succeed “, develops Jamahl Mosley.
Don't turn one defeat into five
And to hear Joe Ingles, who is almost at 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, the best thing to do today is not to forget that an 82-game season is very long. The Magic, a surprise team at the start of the season in 3rd place in the East with a very good record (14 wins – 7 losses), still has a way to go.
“ There will be ups and downs throughout the year. I think what I've been able to do in my career and the teams I've played on is ride those waves and not let one loss turn into five losses in a row. And it's hard to do. […] We can win or lose against any team. And that's what we need to focus on for now », Judges the 36-year-old player.
The current dynamic of his team illustrates the point. After nine consecutive successes, the Magic have just lost two in a row against the Nets and the Cavs. But the overall assessment could not be more positive. Especially since, as Joe Ingles recalls, who says he saw “ scraps » of his team's potential in preseason, the Magic is playing without two starters, Markelle Fultz and Wendell Carter Jr.
Joe Ingles defends the qualities of youth
The veteran of the team thus considers that his training sometimes gives the impression of being more experienced than it is. This “young team” label also suits the Australian moderately.
“ It's not necessarily a question of disenchantment for young people. I think that's the first thing people see as negative. Like, 'They're young, they can't win now.' The other side of the coin is that we should have more energy than others. There are so many other things that people don't talk about, they only think about the negative aspects. As soon as we talk about 'young people', we say 'Oh, they're inexperienced' or something else. », Regrets Joe Ingles.
The latter believes that stories about Magic will evolve over time. But the important thing is that “ the guys in the locker room clearly know what we're capable of, and I think we've shown that throughout the year and will continue to do so. The good thing is that we have a young group and different from what I've known, but it's also a good change. It's funny. I'm the oldest, by a long way, but I feel like the energy is there every day. We could have lost nine times in a row, the group knows what is expected of it. »
| Joe Ingles | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2014-15 | UTH | 79 | 21 | 41.5 | 35.6 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| 2015-16 | UTH | 81 | 15 | 42.6 | 38.6 | 72.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 4.2 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 82 | 24 | 45.2 | 44.1 | 73.5 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 7.1 |
| 2017-18 | UTH | 82 | 31 | 46.7 | 44.0 | 79.5 | 0.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 11.5 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 82 | 31 | 44.8 | 39.1 | 70.7 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 12.1 |
| 2019-20 | UTH | 72 | 30 | 44.5 | 39.9 | 78.7 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 9.8 |
| 2020-21 | UTH | 67 | 28 | 48.9 | 45.1 | 84.4 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 12.1 |
| 2021-22 | UTH | 45 | 25 | 40.4 | 34.7 | 77.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 7.2 |
| 2022-23 | MIL | 46 | 23 | 43.5 | 40.9 | 85.7 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| 2023-24 | ENT | 21 | 19 | 41.5 | 38.5 | 84.6 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 4.7 |
| Total | 656 | 25 | 44.8 | 40.8 | 77.3 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 8.4 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
