Rick Carlisle praises Jamahl Mosley’s excellent work in Orlando

The Magic chose rather well by entrusting the reins of its project to the rookie coach Jamahl Mosley in 2021. The latter set out to raise the bar by defining a real playing identity based on defense, its specialty, and the development of young players with high potential. The progression has been linear over the last two seasons and the work is starting to bear fruit with this successful start to the year.

Sunday, for example, the Floridians won at Indiana (116-128) by achieving a defensive feat on Tyrese Haliburton, limited to 12 points and 3 assists as he came out of two big games in Philadelphia. Harassed and having to face multiple different defenders, Indiana’s leader did not see the light of day.

Rick Carlisle’s pride

“I thought they did a good job, throwing a lot of people at me, it kind of forced me to give up the ball. I faced a lot of different angles”, declared the leader of the Pacers after the meeting. “I felt like there was a lot of contact around the circle. I only get three free throws. It was clearly a difficult evening.”

On the Pacers bench, Rick Carlisle had no trouble congratulating his evening counterpart. The two men know each other well since Jamahl Mosley worked for seven years on Rick Carlisle’s staff, from 2014 to 2021, until becoming one of the best defensive specialists in the league. A status which was further confirmed in this match.

After the meeting, Rick Carlisle took the opportunity to salute the excellent work of his former assistant in Orlando.

“It’s not a surprise to me at all. And I’m really happy with its success. I would like to be his agent, because his contract is about to expire. I saw him work with the “Select Team” of Team USA. He was coaching the team that beat Team USA the first day I was there. He is a high impact coach. There’s nothing that surprised me.” he emphasized about his progression as a head coach.

Long ignored, like Darvin Ham

With a solid record of eight wins in thirteen games, Orlando had already had Houston, Milwaukee and the Lakers on its radar before winning at Indiana.

The Mosley touch is now recognized and respected. For Rick Carlisle, it is obviously a source of pride to see one of his former lieutenants participating in the takeover of power by the young generation of coaches in the NBA.

“I’ve talked to a lot of teams about him for years and he’s a guy that a lot of franchises have passed up. The same way they let Darvin Ham and many others through. He does a great job”concluded Rick Carlisle, president of the NBA coaches union.