With the Orlando Magic’s hopes of making the Play-In essentially finished, they continue to show glimpses of what might have been had they won some more games this season.
Thursday night’s 111-106 victory over the New York Knicks the latest example of how good this group can be on any given night.
Point guard and possible Most Improved Player winner Jalen Brunson did not play, but the Magic still survived both Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley putting up 25 points each.
It was a solid win that continued to show how much the Magic are continuing to grow and mature as a team. Everyone is still focused on trying to make the postseason run while they are still mathematically alive. But there is a definite vibe the team knows it is playing to establish itself for something beyond this year.
This was another contest where the values of Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley were on display, but the goalposts are about to be moved for him in a big way next year.
Mosley has enjoyed a fairly straightforward first two seasons with the Magic. A former assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks, he was tasked with helping a young team grow while losing.
To that end, it has been mission accomplished, with the organization drafting Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero, while also adding Wendell Carter from the Nikola Vucevic deal. The team has established a solid young core that was hungry to win and just needed some guidance and experience to get there.
The Magic have done a good job this season of being competitive, while also losing enough games to add one more high-value Lottery pick to the roster.
At this moment it is likely the franchise will have both their own lottery pick in this year’s draft and a top-four protected pick from that same Vucevic deal.
Blending all of those players together and showing improvement on the court was the next step, and again coach Mosley passed with a high grade.
That ugly 5-20 start to this season aside, about the biggest criticism you could have of this group is the lethargic effort they often put up, as well as playing down to inferior opponents.
The Orlando Magic have managed to beat the Boston Celtics three times this season, but those sleepy Wednesday nights in Detroit are when this roster can be found wanting.
Next up for Mosley was implementing a style of play that was going to carry this team in the coming years.
Becoming a defensive beast appears to have been the route that was settled upon, and in February the Magic had the fourth-best defensive rating in the league at 108.2.
This is because of the solid combination of coach Mosley having a game plan he wants to execute, while also having the right players to carry out his vision on the court.
It feels like there is a synergy between the coaching staff and the players that have been lacking in previous years, with floor general Markelle Fultz the ideal bridge between the two.
It’s been beautiful to watch Markelle Fultz have this triumph and put it all together on the NBA stage 👉🏽 The way his career started was rough. It can be easy to cave under that type of pressure for young guys. Truly a testament to how much of a hooper he is. pic.twitter.com/ndUCVFCDcJ
— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) March 17, 2023
All of this sounds really positive. And this season even at 31 wins at the moment has been a really encouraging one for the team’s growth.
But next season is going to be Mosley’s toughest with the Magic because expectations are going to change. There will be internal and external pressure to show tangible results. The team will likely expect to make a postseason run for real this time.
The organization may have one of the five best futures in the league as a result of their recent draft picks, ability to get involved in any number of trades and favorable cap situation.
Right now they exist in a space where there are minimal expectations, and fans are just happy to see progress being made while losing games.
It is a real sweet spot and one that a couple of teams in any given season occupy in the league.
The D’Angelo Russell-led Brooklyn Nets that made it to the playoffs a few years back are one such example. Modest expectations were overcome, and the team had a future that seemed extremely bright.
That is where the Magic are now, but picturing a bright future and going out and realizing that potential are two completely different things.
Mosley will enter next season knowing that another 5-20 start is unacceptable.
The Magic simply must make the Play-In Tournament at the bare minimum, and if they are lagging behind the pack by January then coach Mosley will surely find himself in the hot seat.
By that point, the Magic job should look like one of the most desirable gigs in the league, and there are a whole host of coaches out of work right now who would fancy taking them to the next level.
Dismissing Jamahl Mosley in favor of a veteran head coach like Steve Clifford to all but guarantee a playoff berth would not be the right move to make, but there are other big names always looking for work.
This is the pressure Mosley always knew was going to come, but with two of the best young players in the league in Banchero and Wagner, he will not have any excuses to not be competitive.
For all the progress that looks like it is being made, the Magic are still going to finish this season below league average in offensive and defensive rating, assists and 3-point percentage.
These numbers are going to have to improve, and quickly, if coach Mosley is to be tasked with bringing the Magic back to the postseason.
The game is about to change for Mosley as he enters his third season with the Magic.
How he takes this group forward in the early stages of next season will tell us a lot about his future with the organization.