How Orlando Magic Went From Missing Playoffs To Chasing A Top-4 Seed, Paolo Banchero Year 2 & More
On today’s show the Orlando Magic are battling it out for a top four seed in the Eastern Conference after not even making the playoffs last season and they’re doing it with a defensive identity founded by head coach Jamal Mosley pel Caro’s growth here in year two and playoff expectations for this
Young Orlando Magic team it’s all coming up on today’s locked on NBA you are locked on NBA your daily NBA podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s up and welcome to another edition of locked on NBA the biggest stories with the local experts I’m your host Jackson
Gatlin also host of locked on Rockets right here on the locked on podcast Network your team every day now today’s episode is brought to you by prize pick prize pick is America’s number one fantasy sports app with over three million members they’re the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy
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Reich you can track down wherever you listen to your podcast and on YouTube just search lock on Magic and Philip the Orlando Magic may be surprising some people this season to go from missing the Playoffs entirely last year to battling for what could be a top four
Seed this season sitting just a half game back of the New York Knicks for that fourth spot in the Eastern Conference that’s been that’s a pretty significant jump to make now I know that you know they had a rough start to last season and they actually finished last
Year really really strong but how did they kind of carry I guess the momentum from last year into the season what kind of been the the main reason for the Magic’s success so far this season yeah I I think I think a lot of it is the way
They finished last season you know they finished with 34 wins which which isn’t crazy but you know when you think about teams taking the leap from Young team to potential four you know four seed five seed potential playoff team they usually hit 500 somewhere in the middle there
Well the magic last year went 29 and 28 after their five five- 20 start and in the process they really discovered what their identity needs to be um they were after December 5th last year they were I think the fifth best defense in the league so for nearly two-thirds of the
Season they were one of the best defenses in the league and that’s that has really carried over they could they saw kind of proof of concept that if we defend at a high level we’re going to be competitive more often than not so this year obviously I think they’re I think
They’re third or fourth in the league in defensive rating they’ve been no lower than like sixth in defensive rating at any point really since the beginning since you know stats had some weight to them they’re they’re truly one of the best defensive teams in the league and while their offense still leaves
Something to be desired you add in the growth from player from young players that you expect to grow like Pao banero and fron Vagner and Jaylen Suggs you add that everyone’s really committed defensively they see that it’s working and now you have a young team playing with confidence and belief that they
Should be there that’s that’s really how you get the formula for the kind of surge that the magic have had here over the last two and you know month and a half two months yeah the magic defense is is something to the the the size the length the point of attack Defenders
That they have it is is something you got to you got to really uh you got to give some love to the magic and pay attention to them for a few games to really notice how smothering the defense can feel at times um now Jamal Mosley recently received a contract extension
That carries him through the 2027 2028 season how has Mosley kind of shaped this new era of Magic basketball and why was extending him the right move Phillip yeah I I I really you know he will never admit this and this is you know one of
The the reasons why Jamal is I think so beloved by everyone like he gives all the credit to the players he gives a lot of credit to his coaching staff but I really think that is part of the culture that he set um you know you think about
It a lot who you hire at the start of your rebuild is really important you know if you have a babysitter who you know and and unfortunately I think you can you can attest to this if you have don’t trigger my PTSD man come on
Um but if you have a coach that’s kind of a babysitter that isn’t setting a standard and setting a culture things can go off the rails really really quick from the moment that Jamal Mosley you know stepped foot in the building you know step foot in The Practice Facility
He said we’re going to be a hard-nosed defensive team and the results may not have shown early on and obviously they won 22 games his first season the results may not have shown early on but you could tell there was a lot of buying that there’s a lot of that there were a
Lot of players who believe that a Jamal that this coach has invested in me and my development and ultimately invested in our success and and you know you just you know why did Jamal Mosley get this contract extension a lot of that is just look at the results the magic go from 22
Wins as first year 34 last year to now they’re sitting at 42 with 11 games to go um they’re fighting for the playoffs they’re making the kind of progression that you that you expect a young team to make if they’re moving in the right direction uh you know Mosley will never
Take the credit for this but I really do think a lot of it comes down to Mosley and the culture of selflessness that he creates starting with himself self and and just belief in everyone around around them and around this team that he instills in in everyone he’s created a
Really strong culture I know a lot of people have compared this magic team to a college team with how close they are um as as friends and as people and you can see that on the bench with how they celebrate each other um to me I think
That starts with the belief and the culture that Mosley set for this group now at the core of all of the well maybe not all of the Orlando Magic success because again the the the defensive identity all that is you know credit to Jamal Mosley for instilling that but for
The magic to have success palano is right there he’s their guy he’s the franchise Guy this is year two for him he received an All-Star not his first of of likely many to come how have you seen him kind of grow and and get better here
In year two versus year one Palo banero yeah I mean so much of it’s just about patience um you know I think I think a lot you know a lot of stars they know hey they’re going to have the ball in their hands a lot and and that the
Defense is always focused on them and so I think you know you see a lot with young with young players who who have that responsibility heaped on them very early on that first year they don’t know what they’re doing and they make a lot of mistakes and they shoot really
Inefficiently you know Kevin Durant was really bad his rookie you know he scored 20 points per game but he was really inefficient and and and kind of bad and and so you see some of these arguments get made what what was really I think astounding to watch with Pao this year
Is how much more patient he is he know you know he spends an extra Split Second or an extra half second looking over a shoulder in the post to see where the Double’s coming from before figuring out where to attack um you know he’s had his 40-point games but to me the more
Impressive games that he’s had are his triple double games he’s had two triple doubles this year one against Denver up in Denver with a very under magic team where he had 30 points anyway and then honestly his game on Thursday against New Orleans Pelicans was one of the more
Impressive games that I’ve seen from him because he got the points part of the triple double last he had 10 rebounds and 11 assists or 10 rebounds and 10 assists before he got his 10th point uh and that game he was in complete control he was waiting to see where New Orleans
Was bringing the double and he trusted his teammates and to me I think that’s one of the big things that’s always really difficult for a young player especially is trusting your teammates to be along for the ride with you especially because you know you may not
Have the full talent to be a playoff team why are the magic sitting in fifth in the East right now fighting for not just fourth but for third in the East it’s because Pao does have a trust in the players that playing with that he’ll
Know when to get his and when to get when to step up his scoring but he’ll get you know five six seven assists he’ll still make mistakes he’s a young player he’s 21 years old but the patience that he has to wait and see what the defense is going to do before
He attacks and then attacking what they give him to me that’s such a huge step for a young player because for me I don’t know I don’t know how you feel about this for me I think it’s always easier to teach a player to be selfish
Than to be unselfish Pao I think is a really unself or wants to be a really unselfish player I like that no that’s and that’s a great way to look at it right is because if he’s unselfish if he’s generating and creating looks for everybody else then talented players like aalo binker right
They can kind of get theirs whenever they want to right they can turn it on and they can go after their buckets so being able to get the team involved is is what will ultimately help this magic team get to where they want to go at least offensively on that side of the
Ball now you touched on this a moment ago we talked about it from the top right The Magik are fighting for a top four seed right now in the East there’s still a lot of shuffling that could take place in the Eastern Conference standings they’re a half game back of
The fourth seed they’re only a game back of the third seed at Cleveland Cavaliers so when you are starting to look at the playoff picture Philip and as it’s kind of taking hold and teams are kind of settling into the spots that you think they’re going to be in as it stands
Right now who would be maybe more like the ideal first round matchup for the magic if you’re looking at the you know the the teams in the East and the way that the magic could you know finish as high as third or potentially maybe they slot in right where they are right now
As fifth yeah yeah you know I think I think first off let me say this I I don’t think there is an ideal matchup for the Magic in the playoffs because they’re young they don’t know what they don’t know how to play in the playoffs and you look at the opponents they could
Be facing in the playoffs all of them have experience you know New York’s been there Cleveland’s been there Indiana Indiana hasn’t been to the playoffs but they got a champion in Pascal SE yakum they’ve been in the playin before uh Philadelphia could have Joel embiid they’re not your typical six seed
They’re not going to be your typical six seed and you know we don’t know whether mb’s going to come back before the end of the season or not but that you know that they could be a very different kind of matchup but you know this is not to
Pick on any team I do think Indiana is the ideal matchup if Orlando can somehow get to the three and it’s not impossible for them to get to the three but if they can get to the three and face the Pacers in the six um I think that is a
Favorable match up for Orlando now they did lose the only game they played against the Pacers with Pascal seaka but that was without Jaylen Suggs Orlando seems to have figured out Indiana’s Kryptonite they’ve always been a team that’s known how to slow down that Pacers uh half court attack they have
Jaylen Suggs who can kind of lock out Tyrese halberton a little bit kind of slow him down a little bit and and their defense seems to give the Pacers offense and that prolific offense that they have a lot of problems while also allowing Orlando to generate some offense of
Their own because you know you know they you know yes they have Pascal seaka now but they don’t have the size elsewhere to match up with Orlando and and because wend Carter can pull Miles Turner away from the pain a little bit they can get downhill and attack that’s been a
Favorable matchup for the Orlando all season Indiana’s proven they can beat them so I’m not going to sit here and say it’s some like oh that’s an easy sweep there there is no easy match up for Orlando because they’ve never been to the playoffs they’ve never felt this
Pressure they never felt you know felt the the energy from the crowd that a playoff you know series brings they they think they’re feeling it a little bit at the Kia Center during this home stand but I’m I’m sitting there thinking like this is nice this ain’t the playoffs
Even from Orlando fans um the there there’s going to be a little bit of a shock for them I think as a young team young teams young teams and young Stars especially always struggle in their first playoff series I’m expecting a little bit of that but I do think
Orlando does match up more favorably with Indiana I I I I think New York would probably win the series because Orlando hasn’t seen them very much with ogn and Obi but Orlando’s matched up well with the Knicks too they own they won the season series with the Knicks
And while the Knicks weren’t healthy for any one of those games and the magic weren’t healthy for a couple of those games too that that could be another G Series where the scores are really low and allows Rolo to kind of hang around and see see what happens so you know I I
Think the magic while young and I don’t think necessarily favored to win any you know most of the playoff series that they could potentially be in I think Orlando is going to be a tougher out than a lot of people give them credit for because you know defense travels in
The playoffs defense matters and this is an elite defensive team if I could have my pick I would love to see the elite defense of the Orlando Magic go against the high octane offense of the Indiana Pacers that would be my own personal uh pick just from a basketball fan
Perspective uh now final thing I’ve got for you here philli uh thoughts on the uh Anthony black Grady dick Jersey swap um fans have been wanting fan let me say this during the draft fans wanted them both on the same team uh and and from what I understand talking to people at
The Kia Center last week uh they tried to get jayen Suggs uh over for the photo as well no and he he left the court because he is a veteran and he know he he knows not to be be with that mess um
We can we can have fun but you know I I remember in copy editing class always have a dirty mind kids always have a dirty mind oh what a move that was that was some uh Peak Television right there but how will Palo bankera and the young Orlando Magic react to their first
Playoff series how deep of a postseason run will they be able to go on you’re going to have this cover for all of that and so much more over at locked on Magic Philip thanks for stopping by locked on M with me thanks for having me on
How Orlando Magic Went From Missing Playoffs To Chasing A Top-4 Seed, Paolo Banchero Year 2 & More
Jackson Gatlin (@LockedOnRockets) is joined by Philip Rossman-Reich (@LockedOnMagic) to discuss the Orlando Magic going from missing the playoffs to battling for a top-4 seed, Jamahl Mosley’s coaching and contract extension, Paolo Banchero’s year two growth, and playoff expectations including the ideal first round matchup.
#Magic #NBA #PaoloBanchero
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