There have been four coaching changes since late January and all in the Eastern Conference, but continuity is key for Orlando to fire on all cylinders with a young core growing together in the seasons to come. News of head coach Jamahl Mosley’s four-year extension this week only further reinforces that.
Mosley’s earned his extension, now comes the hard part
NEWS of freshly-inked NBA contract extensions have proven a poisoned chalice over the past few years, but there is renewed optimism things are changing for the better in Orlando and importantly, will stay that way with Jamahl Mosley committed to their head coaching job long-term after steadying the ship in recent seasons.
Magic’s president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said this in a statement:
“Jamahl and his staff have done a tremendous job not only this season, but since we hired him back in 2021. His preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players and passion he brings everyday brings positive results, on and off-the-court. We are very happy to have Jamahl lead the Magic for years to come.”
Orlando are fifth in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing (38-28), a game behind New York in a battle for a top-four berth between now and April’s end-of-season rush before the play-in tournament and subsequently playoffs begin.
They’ve won nine of their last twelve games and boast healthy depth at a time where their young core have stepped up, as well as important contributions from veteran guard Joe Ingles and fifth-year big man Goga Bitadze too.
Exciting shooting guard Jalen Suggs hasn’t put it all together like a top lottery pick yet, but shown consistent flashes while being sneakily good defensively too.
Couple that with the length they possess in 2023 Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero and skilled small forward Franz Wagner, as well as Bitadze and others besides, it’s easy to see where progression has risen given their buy-in with encouraging results less a surprise and more an expectation for this talented group.
Mosley, like many of the league’s younger head coaches, patiently worked his way into this position and paid his dues to earn respect wherever he goes.
Having transitioned from playing into a role on the sidelines in 2005, he spent valuable time in Denver (05-10) and Cleveland (10-14) before a seven-year stint as assistant coach under Rick Carlisle. Last summer, he was trusted to lead the Team USA select squad, for those not selected to feature in FIBA World Cup play.
Admittedly he endured a predictably sluggish start when replacing Steve Clifford, as their 22-60 record rather speaks for itself in isolation. They went 34-48 last season during Banchero’s rookie year and already have recorded more total wins (37) with three weeks’ worth of regular season games still to play so far this term.
All things being well, they should post their highest winning percentage since 2010-11 and return to the postseason proper for the first time since trading star center Nikola Vucevic to Chicago. From there, who knows how they’ll fare?
East standings, right now
1: Boston (52-14), 2: Milwaukee (43-24)
3: Cleveland (42-24), 4: New York (39-27)
5: Orlando (38-28), 6: Indiana (37-30)
7: Philadelphia (36-30), 8: Miami (35-30)
9: Chicago (32-35), 10: Atlanta (29-36)
As first to report the news, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski highlighted the ball club’s defensive turnaround as being key to their fortunes. Ranked 26th in defensive rating during the final year of Clifford’s tenure, they’ve steadily been improving – shrewd recruitment and more collective accountability paying dividends.
They sit fifth with a 111.3 defensive rating at the time of writing and have allowed less than 100 points scored in 18 games this term — tied for most leaguewide.
Wendell Carter Jr, one of the players they acquired during the aforementioned Vucevic trade, has been a big beneficiary as expected in a new environment.
Mosley’s four-year extension begins in 2024-25 where the immediate expectation will be to maintain their high attainment while making incremental improvements too.
Picture source: Getty Images
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