POSTGAME REACTION: Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks 1/7/24

POSTGAME REACTION: Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks 1/7/24

How about that how Paul how T yeah how cool is that to do that in front of T-Mac tonight it’s awesome man you know we got we got the special unties on Classics had to put on a show for him man show our respect pay our homage it

Was a great win how about you you said it’s kind of your job you kind of joke to get Buckets down the stretch it’s one thing to say it it’s another thing to do it when the whole building knows you’re getting a basketball what were you able

To do here tonight to close it out uh just just trying to have uh complete confidence in myself you know I missed a couple shots throughout the game at The Rim so I was real frustrated but you know I didn’t let that affect you know

The next play and so when when we went into overtime you know that’s an extra five minutes and it’s a tie game so we got to go win it I know you work tirelessly but tell us about that step back at your bread and butter they were

Money tonight you’ve done it all year three straight 30-point games I know you work tirelessly on that yeah man I’m uh I’ll be in the gym that’s really it all right how about your group tonight the faith that you have in your teammates your underman the way they rally this

Group continues to fight yeah man these guys are coming in ready to play you know it’s not even a a question you know guys whoever’s asked to come in is ready to do their job Caleb Caleb was a player of the game in my opinion uh Caleb Tuma

Great defense all night clutch plays Goga rebounds put backs uh it was a complete team effort again and I’m happy we got the win how about your CH are you guys a three-point shooting team now what’s gotten into this group here the last couple of games led by Caleb he’s

Been terrific yeah man I mean coach coaches tell us you know don’t stop soon let it fly we got guys who can shoot out there with Caleb J sucks uh Cole myself so you know that’s our job you know shoot it with confidence um you know

Never waiver so you know I think you know we were shooting and well to start the year but you know that’s due to change all right lastly you’re on a rule Paulo what would it mean to you to get a nod for the All-Star Game I know it

Would be terrific to be a part of that weekend I know that would mean a lot to you it’d be awesome it’d be awesome that’s been a lifelong goal of M uh one of my goals coming into this season and uh you know I just want to keep winning

Man before all that I want to be in the playoff off so you know allar will be great but you know we got to keep racking up these wins a terrific perspective great win tonight Paul yes sir he was outstanding and he joins us now Caleb congrats on the victory just

Tell us about this one and especially what changed there in the third quarter that was a terrific defensive effort come back and you guys took the lead back yeah appreciate it I think just um locking in and sticking to our principles was a big thing that we

Talked about at halftime um so just trying to take uh make Trey young take tough shots same with Murray um those guys are really good but trying to force him in line take tough twos um was a big thing and then get out and run and play

Our kind of basketball was a big emphasis how about you Caleb we know you can shoot you know you can shoot your teammates know you can shoot but to come out and knock down seven triples you had it going on here tonight tell us about

The Rhythm you were in yeah I mean just being aggressive um just picking my spots and and shout out to my teammates for finding me um in in open spots um and really just being aggressive um yeah that was probably the biggest thing them

Them being to find me was a big thing I really appreciate that Kayla this is coach Hill tell me tell me if I’m I’m correct here but in the third quarter you guys had a different mindset offensively the ball went into the paint constantly and every three that was made

In the third quarter came off a pass out of the paint and uh to to me and tell me whether you agree or not that’s when you get your best looks at a three-point shot is when the ball goes inside and then gets kicked out to you rather than

Just around the perimeter yeah definitely I think that’s what uh we’re really good at you know with guys like Paulo guys like sugs Cole everyone that can kind of get in the lane um and then make make plays for other people spray outs uh so definitely those are those

Are the shots we want for sure you get the best seat better seat than anybody to the Paulo Bano show especially the last couple of games what is so special about Paulo and how good was he tonight K man yeah he was he was great I mean

You guys see it uh every night um and like I like you guys said every team’s trying to stop him and he still does his thing every night so um yeah it’s just really really fun to be out there playing with him um watching him uh is great yeah Caleb how about this

Opportunity for you right guys go down you’re underman you were getting you were getting an opportunity before this but it’s kind of extended now the team has needed you and you’ve been able to come through which I know you got to be proud of yeah I mean we just talk about

Like next man up so I just try to stay ready whether I’m playing or not playing at the same attitude um just contining to work on my game and when my name is called just trying to be ready as best as I can Caleb I I thought uh we talked

About the third quarter and you making threes but we had you had 18 points in the paint in the third quarter after having only 16 at halftime to go along with all those paint touches that were kick out for threes and also had 10 assists in that quarter alone after

Having only nine at half time what what did the coaches say at halftime to get you guys playing that way in the third quarter I think we had glimpses of it uh in the first half so I think this kind of encouraged it more um just continu

Moving the moving the ball um playing fast um was a big emphasis this um and I think we did that especially down the stretch how much fun is this Caleb and we’ll let you go right the winning is fun right super fun nothing better than that all right great job well you were

Big reason for it tonight enjoy this one coach your group came up with a number of big plays in overtime what did you like about your group’s Collective effort in the extra session to Come Away with the win learning how to win understanding that what’s important and

What’s needed in those moments uh the Poise that we showed knowing the things we needed to get done which were big defensive stops big defensive rebounds and then finding the the matchups that we need and then when it comes down to it it is making big shots down the

Stretch as well coach Caleb Houston 25 points a career high for him can you just talk about just waiting his turn and just you know finding his moment now to really show and and help this team Caleb is a machine and I mean it and I call I laugh

And joke with him every day that he’s in that gym he is a machine he’s the first one in he’s the last one out he’s not taking days off even when you tell him to take a day off he’s not taking it off he’s working his tail off night in and

Night out to do the right thing and he’s someone that we’ve talked about that you know where he’s going to be on the floor both offensively and defensively because he studies he works and the coaches do a phenomenal job of keeping him ready coach this is this is your team’s

Second overtime game the last three games what do these experiences help how do they help your team at this point in the season and down the stretch of the Season well there was a time in in that huddle that we talked about it right we said this is just like Sacramento what

Can we take from that so you go out you win the tip you execute you try to do it the right way um you know exactly what you need to do cuz you felt that firsthand seven days ago you know so what does that look like what does that

Feel like what’s the possessions we need to take care of what’s the execution we have to have um and then the level of communication and focus of what we’ve walked through during shoot around they’ve seen that and felt that so that’s what they learned in those

Moments I know it seems like every game that we’re coming up with some new Accolade to give to give to Pao but but what did what what does it say about him to be able to step up the way that he did in overtime I think he had eight of

The 12 points in overtime to kind of pace this team and and deliver the win he’s a winner I’ll probably say the same exact thing every time because he’s a winner he’s going to find a way to help the team win whatever that looks like um finding guys finding mismatches

Defensive assignments whatever it looks like this young man is growing more and more each and every single game uh about what he’s has to do and the responsibility that he possesses with this team and these guys trust what he’s capable of doing coach 18 seconds left

In the fourth quarter you had a chance to take a timeout you chose not to can you explain the reasoning behind that he gave Paulo kind of a nod did he did you know what he was going to do with it well he called out and got exactly what

He wanted so you know you the situation that we’ve been working on before Trey had been in a couple picking rolls with with Paulo they were showing out and it was his ability to either get downhill which he did they closed the Gap he threw the ball back to Caleb for a wide

Openen three which is for winning the game so he made the right play which is exactly what we say for a young man that you need him to make the right Play because I’m telling you right now if I’d have called the timeout I’d probably called the exact same play I would have

Zippered him up from the side out of bounds got the ball in his hands we’ have slipped out of the pick and roll he’d either got downhill or he thrown it back to Caleb Houston for a knock down three same play coach uh Trey young two of nine

From three Deon Mary o0 of two can you talk about the job that Jaylen did on those two guys and then just the the collective team effort there I think Jaylen does a tremendous job and I’ve said it before I said it in Denver he’s

A top five Defender when he is fully and completely locked all the way in and that’s what he’s capable of doing on a regular basis coach just in limited minutes tonight getting Marquel back out there on the floor what do you evaluate from him in terms of the pace of play that he

Was playing with and really just his overall performance well he played himself to exhaustion in his minutes and that’s why being able to be on a minute’s restriction in that moment is is good because he can get his wind uh he can get a rhythm for being back on

The floor with with the guys uh then they can feel the pace in which he plays at so understanding how much we’re going to have to push that ball even more uh and then defensively just crawling into guys getting over scen showing your hands being active uh throughout the

Night and that’s going to take some time but that’s what this team is About You by committee and when the guys are asked to step in they’ll continue to do it did you get an explanation for the tech you received I was wishing him a happy New

Year and telling him he was doing a great job at that time and that’s pretty much all I can remember you know how much work you you put in to to get back on to the court just just how good did it feel to be back out there with with your teammates

And playing an NBA game again it’s huge um I’m just extremely blessed just to had the opportunity just to be able to step back out there with my my teammates um that’s pretty much it you know that’s all I care about is being able to be out

There with my brothers go out there and compete and um just try to get wins and that’s what we did tonight so again I’m just extremely thankful uh I’m glad I made it through the game healthy I’m glad we got our win you said you made it through the game healthy so how

Do you feel now and and I remember before we talked with you uh like maybe a few weeks ago you said you wanted to make sure you were coming back for the long term so do you feel like you’re going to be able to do that absolutely

Um I think you know obviously with our training staff and Coach Mo you know playing precautious having me on minute restriction right now and just you know again uh we’re worried about the Long Haul here um especially for myself and with the organization um and again all I

Car about is contributing to this team help helping them win whether that’s two minutes whether that’s 20 minutes whether that’s 30 minutes um I’m G do everything in my power to just help my teammates uh try to contribute to a win so when Bell came back after his absence

He said he felt maybe a step behind how did you feel out there just with the pace of the game and and you know first game back since November 9th um I felt I felt fine actually you know again uh I think I can just help the team anyways I

Just tried to push the ball even when we stting offense you know I think that’s one thing I can bring to the game no matter what compete on a high level on defense and I know myself I know it’s just going to get better as games go

Along and and as well as with the team you know we’re going to continue to build continue to get better on both hands of the floor and um again just Tak me one day at a time I can’t can’t come back and think that everything is going

To be you know amazing and perfect like I said my my only thing go out there have fun and I did that so uh I checked the box for myself and again we got a win so I couldn’t be any better be any any happier marel picking up on that

Point on the defensive side of the ball you did a really good job getting over those screens and kind of running Trey off the line how would you rate your defensive performance tonight really the team with Trey young in general uh I just think that I I honestly think

It was around a c uh I think I can get better in many ways we all can but again I think defensively it’s it’s mostly effort that’s one thing that you know I pride myself on is going out there and competing on both ends of the floor and

I think I did a good job of that you know just while I’m in there just again picking up trying to make it tough on them and uh it’s a team effort so I think we did a good job tonight uh we pulled out the win Mark H you’re this

Isn’t basketball related but you’re a Washington guy there’s a ton of Michigan guys in that locker room you guys talking a little smack about tomorrow’s national championship game absolutely I’ve been trying to ask them what they what we’re doing for you know whether or not you know we got three so I’m kind

Actually Four ched isn’t here so I’m kind of scared if we lose but I got confidence in in ubb you know we go out there and get that dub Markel as a team obviously you guys are very close but given the fact that you guys have faced a lot of adversity

These last couple of games does that bring youall closer how does that like you know how does the team kind of progress after these last couple of games I think it absolutely makes us closer you know we we always talk about doing it by committee um and we we

Believe in everybody on our team you know so when when guys go downs and things happen uh we practice for this we we we know that the next guy mentality next guy up and we all give each other confidence we believe we can go out there and win with whoever’s on the

Floor and um I think that’s one thing that’s special about our team uh not only on the court but off the court you know we really believe in each other we really care about each other so um that’s something that shows and I think that it’s just showing in in a few

Couple wins that we had you know no matter what what the game throws at us what what happens with us no matter the adversity uh we’re going to stay together and we’re going to go out there and compete Mar speaking of one of the Michigan men can you talk about Caleb

Houston’s performance stepping up tonight into the starting five and dropping a career high 25 sniper my guy’s a shooter uh he’s one of those guys that’s in the gym every day you know he works really really hard to to work on his craft and um you’re just

Seeing the product of that you know he’s getting opportunity he’s taking full advantage of it and that’s what it’s all about you know you never know when your opportunities going to come and I think he’s doing an unbelievable job of just you know doing what he does you know

Playing his game and he’s showing everybody what he can do

The Orlando Magic returned home and beat the Hawks on Sunday night. Hear from Paolo Banchero, Caleb Houstan, Jamahl Mosley and Markelle Fultz after the victory.

0:00 – Paolo Banchero
2:06 – Caleb Houstan
5:10 – Jamahl Mosley
9:27 – Markelle Fultz

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