Jamahl Mosley buries veteran guards in Magic’s ugly loss to Grizzlies

The Orlando Magic entered the 2024-25 season confident that they would do big things. Fuelled by last season’s playoff appearance and the growth of several players, the Magic believe the sky is the limit. The season opener against the Miami Heat supported any big claims the Magic made during the offseason. 

One game later, the Magic got another win against the Brooklyn Nets but did not play nearly as well as they did in Miami. It was a shaky performance against a team that is not looking to compete this season. 

The Magic then followed that up with another shaky performance against a team definitely trying to win. The Memphis Grizzlies struggled last season but seem to be getting back into shape, hoping to compete in the Western Conference again. Orlando struggled with their style of play. 

Jamahl Mosley’s squad is strong defensively, but they are not the only good defensive team in the league. The Grizzlies feature two former Defensive Player of the Year winners and several strong, big bodies. On the other end of the floor, Memphis plays fast, always pushing the pace. 

The Magic gave up the ball too often, amassing 19 turnovers and allowing the Grizzlies to score 30 points off those turnovers, struggled to guard Memphis when they got out in transition, and simply could not keep up offensively. 

While Memphis got big contributions from several players off the bench, Orlando relied heavily on its starters. Jamahl Mosley didn’t even seem to trust his veteran guards to help the team off the bench. 

Mosley did not play Cole Anthony and Gary Harris much 

The Magic’s bench is supposed to be one of the team’s strengths, but it was not very present in Memphis. Youngster Anthony Black was somewhat surprisingly the only bench player to play significant minutes. Black is still new to the rotation and his role, as he struggled to claim consistent minutes as a rookie. 

And yet, he was the one guard Mosley relied on off the bench, not veterans Gary Harris and Cole Anthony. As has been the custom this season, Black and Harris were the first players off the bench, and Anthony joined them late in the first quarter. 

Anthony and Harris were key players for the Magic last season—the team’s sixth man and starting shooting guard to close the season—but did not play much of a role in this game. Harris played 16 and 22 minutes in the Magic’s first two games. In Memphis, he only saw the court for roughly four minutes and left the stat sheet empty. 

Anthony likewise played 18 and 20 minutes in the previous two games but only saw about seven-and-a-half minutes against the Grizzlies. In those seven minutes, he scored four points, dished out two assists, got one steal, and turned the ball over twice. 

Even Jett Howard, who had not been a part of the rotation until this game, played more minutes than the two veterans and led the bench in scoring with 11 points. 

Anthony’s and Harris’ play already caused some concerns last season, as Anthony continuously lost minutes in the playoffs, and Harris struggled from three. The Magic will need them to be better this season if they really want to win against some of the better teams in the league.