LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was facing a lot of heat early in the season.
The Magic were slow out of the gates to start the season at 1-5 and eventually 4-6. They were not meeting their expectations. Worse still, their defense had slipped as the team tried to increase its pace and speed. The Magic's stars looked out of whack, with Paolo Banchero struggling to find his footing early on and Desmond Bane failing to deliver.
The message boards and social media were filled with fans questioning whether Mosley was the right coach and calling for him to be fired immediately. Everyone was always looking ahead.
There was some frustration but very little sense of panic within the team. They were confident they were going to right the ship and figure things out.
They have, of course. The Magic are 11-4 in their last 15 games, climbing up to fourth in the Eastern Conference and reaching the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas. Everyone has taken a sigh of relief as the Magic look more and more like the team everyone imagined they could be.
"I think Jamahl is as even-keeled a guy as you'll find anywhere," NBA on Prime broadcaster and former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Friday. "They were 1-4 and 4-6, and I think he knew exactly what was going on. You got into the season, they played with the pace you wanted, but they got away from their defensive mentality. I think Jamahl caught that early on, got them back to their defensive mentality, and now they've got the best of both worlds."
As the Magic have rounded back into form, the apology needed to be as loud as the frustration. Mosley has been a big reason why the Magic have found themselves again.
Mosley has earned a lot of respect for this turnaround and getting the Magic back on track.
Transition to turnaround
It has been quite the transformation.
In the season's first 10 games, the Orlando Magic had a 113.9 offensive rating, good for 20th in the league. Their increase in pace was noticeable -- to 101.8 possessions per 48 minutes. But they had lost much of their defensive consistency, falling to 16th at 114.3 points allowed per 100 possessions.
The Magic were desperately in need of a reset.
During the last 15 games, since Nov. 10, the Magic have gotten back to those roots. They rank second in the league with a 109.6 defensive rating. That is more like the Magic.
But they have found the right mix offensively. Orlando is ninth in that time with a 116.8 offensive rating. The Magic are second in the league with 19.0 fast-break points per game.
The Magic successfully found the balance. But they knew it meant starting with their defense first and foremost. That was always the foundation for the team and something they needed to realize with all the early focus on offense.
"I think just watching [Jamahl] Mosley, him and his coaching staff put their imprint on this team," NBA on Prime analyst Dwyane Wade said Friday. "I was asking: What are your non-negotiables for this team? When you have a team that is trying to build something and make their way up to a place like the Knicks are, it has to b e strict goals, it has to be concise. I can see him building a culture."
The Magic have built that defensive culture during the last four years with Mosley at the helm. It is what turned Orlando into a perennial playoff team during the last few years.
Orlando has found its defensive footing again. And that base has allowed the team to grow and climb the standings and into the team everyone expected they would be.
Still-changing offense
Still, the Orlando Magic understood they needed to make some changes this season. Those early growing pains were expected, but were necessary to take this leap.
When Stan Van Gundy was coaching the Magic, he often said that to compete for a championship meant having a top-10 offense and defense. Teams cannot be one-sided if they want to compete for the biggest prizes.
And with the Magic pushing their chips all-in with Desmond Bane and the max extensions for Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, the Magic are indeed eyeing a championship in the next few years.
To compete for prizes like the NBA Cup, the Magic needed to improve their offense. And they focused on pace as their ticket to do so.
"They sat down and made a good decision, but a hard decision for any coach to go away from what you are familiar with and make a drastic change offensively with how they were going to approach the game," Van Gundy said Friday. "They changed their offense, gotten it to where they want in terms of pace, but then they are back to their defensive identity over the last 15 games. That's how they've survived all the injuries. The defense is what allows you to do that and they understand that."
Everyone can feel how different the offense is.
The biggest change is indeed in how frequently the Magic score in transition now and use their defense to convert into offense.
The Magic went from 26th in transition possessions per game at 17.9 per game and 24th at 1.11 points per possession in transition last year to sixth with 22.7 transition possessions per game and sixth with 1.19 points per possession in transition this year, according to data from Synergy Sports.
Mosley's idea and change have taken root with this team. And it is the reason the Magic find themselves competing for a trophy this weekend and in the hunt for something bigger heading toward the spring.
Mosley has proven himself a master motivator and gotten his team to play harder than most opponents. But he was not so stuck that he did not make adjustments to the team's attack.
He said Friday that it is on him to grow and change to take care of a team that is no longer just about developing but winning and advancing deeper into the Playoffs.
Mosley has successfully shepherded the Magic through those early struggles. He is a big reason why the Magic have so much to play for.