Jett Howard is making it almost impossible for Coach Mosley to not play him

The Magic finally got a win to close out preseason, beating a 76ers team without Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. After a slow start, several players put together rather impressive games. Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs showed out with their playmaking, combining for 15 assists. Paolo Banchero unsurprisingly led the team in scoring, and Wendell Carter Jr. came back from his ankle injury with a near double-double. 

The starters finally got another chance to play extended minutes together and find their rhythm as a group. Before this final preseason game, the starters only played together in one game—a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. missed the second game against the Spurs, and the Magic had Jett Howard and Goga Bitadze start in their places. 

Both Howard and Bitadze made the most of their opportunities to start, putting together strong games. Howard impressed with his 19 points on efficient shooting. Against the 76ers, Howard did not score quite as much but still showed off his offensive skill set. He hit three of his six attempts from three on his way to 11 points in 17 minutes of playing time. 

Jett Howard’s skill set could really help the Magic 

After spending his rookie season mostly in the G League, Howard is fighting for rotational minutes at the NBA level this time around. The biggest concern with his game is his defense. Orlando values defense more than most teams, wanting no or few weak links on the court. 

Howard still has work to do on that end, but he possesses other skills that could help take the Magic to the next level. They desperately need someone who can explode offensively and create his own shot, particularly from three. Jett Howard has shown in preseason that he could be the easiest answer to that issue. 

He is still unproven against NBA competition in the regular season, but the only way to change that is to give him a chance to play significant minutes during the regular season. At the very least, Howard will be able to hit threes and space the floor. He is not afraid to let threes fly and usually makes plenty of them. 

If preseason is any indication, the Magic will need someone who can reliably hit threes. The rest of the team has not shot it well throughout preseason action, with the exception of Anthony Black (3-6), Gary Harris (3-3), and Jonathan Isaac (2-2). 

Jalen Suggs went 4-18 from three, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shot 1-6 from long range, Franz Wagner converted none of his seven 3-point attempts, Cole Anthony shot 2-11 from three, and Wendell Carter Jr. missed all four of his attempts. If that kind of shooting from the primary rotational players continues early in the regular season, Coach Jamahl Mosley may have little choice but to play Jett Howard.