The Orlando Magic Just Put the NBA on Notice | HHT 66
The Magic will be an excellent team this season. They’ve experienced really, really poor results from luck factors and varants and things will turn around and I do think that this game might be the start of that. That lineup, the starting lineup that you mentioned, Suggs, Bane, Vagner, Beno, and Wendell Carter is plus 19.1 per 100 possessions better than opponents. They’re dominating when they play together and they’re still just getting to know each other like you mentioned. What do we think is going to happen? This team’s going to be really good. This Orlando starting lineup has three incredible additive players around their two best players positionally. You put these three next to France Vagner and Paulo Beno, it cannot fail. And if it fails, it is a failure of coaching and nothing else. It is a tactical deployment failure by Jamal Mosley. If this keeps up, that will be the thing that prevents them from reaching their ceiling. That is it. That is the thing. This is Hot Hand Theory. This is a podcast where we talk about the NBA and break things down from an analytical perspective. I’m your host, XJ. As always, I’m joined by my brilliant co-host, Jeff. Jeff, we are discussing the Orlando Magic today. You and I were texting about who should we cover for this episode. We’re going back and forth. We’re trying to figure it out. There’s a lot of teams that we had on the potential agenda. We’re watching this Magic versus Blazers game, and I don’t know about you, but I was experiencing all of the emotional highs and lows of this game. At some point, the Magic went from, and I had looked it up, a 95% win probability to a 28% win probability. It’s wild swings and roller coasters. Obviously, Desmond Bane, who Magic fans are not quite happy with so far, made this improbable shot to win the game. But I think Jeff, we chose to cover this team because there’s so much going on here beneath the surface. There’s so much to dig up and I feel like the conversation around the Magic is really, really skewed and so hopefully we can add a little bit more nuance and context to it. Um, I felt like this game was almost a metaphor for what’s going on for Orlando as as bumpy as it seems right now for them. And I know, like I said, I know a lot of fans are are are very frustrated and pissed off. And there are reasons to be, trust me, we’re going to we’re going to talk about them in a deep way like we always do. But the Magic will be an excellent team this season, health permitting. I’m just I always have to add that caveat because people will say whoa what if uh you know Fron goes down. Yeah. Okay. Health permitting the Magic will be a very good team this season. Like I am extremely confident about that. They have too much talent that works well together. They’ve experienced really really poor results from luck factors and varants so far and things will turn around and I do think that this game might be the start of that. I I I believe that. And sometimes things like that happen where it feels like they should have ran away with the game. They let the Blazers come back into it. You go through these emotional highs and lows, but somehow they come out on top and then you look forward in a couple weeks and then all of a sudden they look like the Orlando Magic that you were expecting coming into the season. So, I I do think this is a turnaround. We’re going to dive into like the nitty-gritty. You mentioned to me before we started recording that I probably have a rant coming at some point. I will have a rant and it is on Desmond Bane and uh it’s gonna be great. So stick around for that. Jeff, where do you want to start with talking about this Orlando Magic team? There’s so much to cover like you said because the overall conversation around them is so clouded by Desmond Bane’s poor shooting. So, it’s like how much different could things be if Bane was just, you know, making a couple more threes that he probably should be making. Um, they’ve lost a couple close games. What I find really interesting about this team is they’ve kind of flip-flopped from what’s made them successful the last couple of seasons. If you look at the onoffs and the lineup data from their last two seasons when they made the playoffs, it was kind of their bench that carried them. It was like the bench and the Fron’s lineups that carried them this season, right out of the gate, despite Desmond Bane not being able to make anything, their starting lineup is absolutely carrying them. Like when Suggs plays and Suggs, Bane, France, Paulo, and Wendell Carter play together, they’re destroying opponents. So like how can you not be optimistic about this long term if you know that not know if you feel confident that Bane’s shooting is going to turn around and you have to account for the fact that these guys are still getting to know each other. Like we talked about when they got Bane that if there was ever anybody who was going to be kind of like in a natural infusion into a lineup, it’s an additive player like Bane who can just kind of play off of France, play off of Paulo, and you can count on his offball gravity, his movement, how he was going to help them push the pace. Some of those things you’ve already gotten. I think that probably the most positive return from Bane off the start from the start, excuse me, has been the way he’s infused pace. Like they are leaking out more. They are running more. You see Fron get these push ahead passes. Even Paulo got one today. Like Paulo not really known as like a fast break guy. He’s a little bit more methodical. But I do think that Bane has infused some pace into the lineups that he plays in. Um, so you’re looking at this lineup where like he’s not making any shots, but already they’re showing so many promising returns. It feels like the bench is going to catch up. Like that is probably going to see some positive regressions. Um, it doesn’t really make sense to me that their bench has been so dominant for two seasons and now they’ve just fallen off a cliff. I know Magic fans probably have a primary candidate as to why those lineups are failing. Taius Jones, maybe they want to see Jace Richardson, maybe not so fast, but and I like Jace a lot. I think the bench is going to turn around. I think it’s going to find itself. They It’s not like they just forgot how to play. Tristan Dilva is a good player. Go’s a good player. Like these lineups are going to normalize. and then Desmond Bane’s shooting is probably going to normalize. There aren’t really too many super positive outliers that are going to see negative regression. I think it’s looking up for this Magic team. And like you said, it feels kind of likely that they’re going to use this big momentum uh uh game buzzer beater, game winner by Desmond Bane as sort of a spring springboard going forward. Yeah, you hit on all the really really strong points. There are so many indicators lying below the surface that look like they’re starting to bubble up right now. It’s like when there’s a a market bubble of some kind and there are all these indicators and people are like, “Well, is this sustainable? Is this sustainable? Will this stay like this? What if this changes? This seems like it’s starting to go in the other direction.” And and people start betting on things exploding. And for the Orlando Magic, it’s sort of the opposite. It’s Yeah. Is Desmond Bane going to shoot like this? Is Palo Benero going to shoot like this? Um, you know, are is Palo really not going to continue to get better as it seems like he’s starting to slowly and slowly as the season moves on? Is the bench going to be like this? Is, you know, are we going to get uh Mo Vagner back at some point and improve the bench? Is Jonathan Isaac going to keep playing like this? Um, all these things under the surface. Is Tyus Jones ever going to make a shot again? I’m sure that Orlando Magic fans are asking themselves this is is Ty will Ty Jones ever make a three-point shot again for the rest of his career because it sometimes it seems like he won’t. Tyus Jones shot 400 threes last season and he’s shot 41% on those. I’m pretty sure he’s shooting like 15% or something from three. I think he’s made two threes all season. He is going to shoot better. and all of these things that you’re mentioning with how good that starting lineup has been with Wendell Carter returning to being a good shooter again and when Jaylen Suggs is able to play consistently, you know, high minutes again, these things are looking really really up for Orlando despite the really rough patch to start the season. And speaking of guys eventually being able to shoot again, and I’m sure you know where I’m going, Desmond Bane, I just want to say this because like the I don’t know the the the conversations on social media and what I hear from like more of like the mainstream ESPN types where it’s like, well, man, this trade’s really looking rough for Orlando. It’s like, yeah, if if this is the guy that they traded for, if you think this is who this player is, this is not the guy that they traded for, the guy that they traded for will arrive at some point. That is almost all but a guarantee. And I know that because first, let’s look at how he’s shooting this season on the kinds of shots that he’s getting. So, I like to look at open shots, which is shots with a three-point uh shots that are open, which are shots with a defender within four to six feet, and wide open three-point shots, which are shots with a defender 6 feet or more away. This season, Bane is shooting 30% on both of these types of shots. He’s 6 for 20, a very round six for 20 on both of these types of shots for 30%. And I look at these shots because they represent to me they represent shooting ability like true shooting ability because they indicate quality shots and they isolate other factors like you know defenses keying in on you or bad spacing environments or other things like that that could happen from different team to different team. This just isolates at like how good are you at this thing of shooting the basketball because whether you’re wide open for the Orlando Magic or you’re wide open for the Memphis Grizzlies or you’re wide open for the New York Knicks, a wide open three-point shot is a wide open three-point shot. Overall, Desmond Bane has never had a season in the history of publicly available records of his stats where he shot below 38% from three overall. For his career, Desmond Bayon is shooting 42% on 834 open threes. He is shooting 45% on 849 wide open threes for his career in the NBA. That represents his shooting ability. Missing those shots at the rate that he is missing them will not last. There is almost nothing like there’s nothing that’s a guarantee, but there’s almost nothing that’s as close to a guarantee as the fact that this will turn around for Desmond Bane. That’s we we we all but know that unless there’s something wrong, you know, like unless it’s like a well, I don’t want to bring up any bad uh memories for this team in particular, but a Markell fault situation where he just like literally forgets how to shoot or just like is not able to. And it doesn’t seem to be anything like that. So, Desmond Bane has had four seasons in college, five seasons in the NBA. Like I said, he’s never shot below 38% from three for any of those nine seasons. He had a really good game in the first Boston game where he looked a lot more comfortable and looked like a lot more like more like himself. And despite shooting poorly from three again against Portland, I thought he was overall pretty good. And when he gets hot, which he will, this lineup’s already dominating and playing very very well. Like you said, I think per cleaning the glass at least. Anyway, that lineup, the starting lineup that you mentioned, Suggs, Bane, Vagner, Beno, and Wendell Carter is plus 19.1 per 100 possessions better than opponents. That is domination. They’re dominating when they play together. And this is with Bane performing in this way. This is with Palibano shooting 25% from three. This is with guys that are not performing anywhere near their standards and they’re still just getting to know each other like you mentioned. So, if they’re performing like this, and I’m telling you, this shooting situation will turn around, guaranteed. What do we think is going to happen? What is our expectation? This team’s going to be really good. This team’s going to be really good. The bench is going to get better. Mo Vagner is going to come back at some point. This team is going to be a problem. and and and you can clip this or whatever you want to do with it. This is going to happen. So that’s what I would say to Magic fan. And you want to know why the Desmond Band trade was so good? Because even when he’s shooting like this, look at Fron, look at Paulo, even with Paulo, you know, not making threes out of the gate. Look at how they perform with Bane versus without Bane even to start this season. even with these uh 11 games through these these 11 games. I don’t know why this is the second straight video. I forgot how many I look at it before we start the video and I’m like just blanking. Um look at how Paulo and Fron perform with Bane versus without him. You look at how Fran shoots at the rim. You look at how Fran shoots from three. Fron is shooting 8% better from three with Desmond Bane on the court than verse without him. Both Paulo and Fron are shooting better at the rim with Bane on the court versus without him. He still provides that gravity and you mentioned it. If Fron and Paulo are your primary initiators, which they need be need to be, and this is where I want to take this conversation because I think if there’s going to be one thing holding the Magic back, it is this thing. This Orlando starting lineup, if Desmond Bayon turns his shooting around, has three incredible additive players around their two best players positionally. Wendell Carter Jr., a center who can protect the rim and shoot threes. Desmond Bane and Jaylen Suggs, two plus defenders, Jaylen Suggs, an elite defender, who are both elite shooters. You put these three next to France Vagner and Paulo Beno, it cannot fail. And if it fails, it is a failure of coaching and nothing else. It is a it is a tactical deployment failure by Jamal Mosley. If we are a month, if we look a month from now and Palancho isn’t a lock all-star and Fran Vagner isn’t having the best offensive season, like these additive players need to be leveraged in this way. I can’t I can’t open Twitter and see that France Vagner is on ball sixth most on his own team behind Anthony Black and Taius Jones. Can’t do it. That cannot happen. That is a failure by Jamal Mosley. And if this keeps up, that will be the thing that prevents them from reaching their ceiling. That is it. That is the thing. It’s not Desmond Bane continuing to shoot 20% from three. Like, if that happens, that is an outlier of all outliers. If a month from now they’re still hovering around 500 and overall we’re still like, man, the Magic haven’t quite got where we think they’re going to get, it is a failure by Jamal Mosley. He has been including Desmond Bane and his 20% from three including you know if you thought Paulo Ben Carro if you thought this was the year he’s going to make the allNNBA leap and you’re a little bit disappointed by him shooting 25% from three including that Jamal Mosley start to the season has been the biggest disappointment by far. He has not leveraged the skill sets of his players as good as he can and that’s going to catch up to them if they keep up this way. Um they need to do something about that. They need France and Paulo to be the stars of this team. It can’t be like I get it. I get you want to make Bane comfortable. That’s cool. Bane is a nice tertiary creator. He’s developing some really good chemistry with Wendell Carter Jr. I love I love seeing Desmond Bane do the little handoff with Wendell Carter Carter Jr. and then whip that one-handed pass to the weak corner. He is excellent at it and that’s part of why he’s worth so much what he I’m not saying he shouldn’t start any possessions but they need to shift to France and Paulo being the stars of this team and that is the one thing that is making me say God like maybe they won’t get to where I thought they would in the preseason. Yeah, you’re just spot on. You’re just spot on. Uh I love everything you said there. We we’ve we’ve talked around we’ve talked about and kicked around this concept where um and we’ll release a video soon about this uh um where basically a lot of NBA teams are going to these situations where they’re either starting as we call them fake point guards. So, a player like Dante Dvenenzo, who is not a point guard, is actually a small wing, who’s a a spacer, and those are the guys that they’re starting at point guard, or in some cases, you know, I would say I I wouldn’t call Jaylen Suggs a fake point guard. But I I would say that he’s a very good offball player and should give way to better on ball players like Fron and Paulo when they’re on the court at the same time as him. And basically the Magic are just not playing that way. They’re just like, “No, this guy has point guard in his name and therefore he initiates possessions and therefore he has the ball in his hands and therefore he runs the pick and rolls and and this other guy uh he has wing in his title. So therefore he spots up on the wing and he catches and attacks closeouts and that’s what he does.” And it’s a really weird deployment strategy at this point for Jamal Mosley. I I I I have some hope and faith that he’ll turn it around in terms of recognizing what’s not working well. But the fact that all of these issues that we’ve listed are are are really significant issues. And there’s another significant issue that I’ll mention which is my only real concern outside of kind of coaching tactical deployment like you described coming into the season is and the biggest concern I’ve always had about the Magic situation is Fran and Paulo being similarized players and both sort of having concerns as shooters. I mean I’ve always thought that Fron was going to turn around his shooting like we’ve talked about this a bunch. I just think he will. I think he’s a better shooter than he has been. His shot looks better already this season. He’s cut out that terrible hitch for the most part. The jury still out on Palo as a shooter, but it’s really about them being basically like size. So teams, especially those in a playoff scenario in the Eastern Conference, they’re going to switch every single action that those two are involved in. They’re not going to you’re not going to get a real advantage other than saying, “Well, I want that wing to guard me instead of that wing.” Like that’s the most you’re going to be able to do when you put those two in actions because they’re similarized players. And that’s why most synergistic duos are like guards and bigs because when you switch those actions that leads to simultaneous mismatches in most cases for for against most teams. Um and so that’s why we see the guard big duo more often than we see the wing-wing duo. Unless those two guys are both really really good shooters or the team that they’re playing against has like a small defender on the court that they can kind of hunt um like we’ve seen the Boston Celtics do and have have Jason Tatum be one of the best step back shooters in the league. So that’s been my biggest concern about the Magic and I was coming into the season thinking okay well Mosley is going to have to do something about that and I don’t really have a very clear solution for it. I’m interested for Magic fans if you have thoughts about that because I’m sure you guys have thought about that for a long time with these two being the the best players on the team. Would love to hear your thoughts. But I was coming to the season thinking this is going to be the the biggest challenge. But not uh play like letting Fron Vagner have the ball in his hands like that was not that was not even a consideration I had. All that being said, these are a bunch of issues we’ve talked about that they’ve had and the starting lineup is still dominating teams. It’s like it’s like, whoa, what does it look like when they don’t have when they clean up like, you know, 75% of this stuff? It looks so much better. On top of that, Jamal Mosley, maybe he’s a good offensive coach or maybe he can be. This is a defensive coach and the Magic are 18th in defense and 19th in field effective field goal percentage against. like that’s going to turn around. They’re not going to be the e they’re not going to be 18th in defense. Their defense is going to get better. All of these things are the indicators that I was talking about that when you look at them all and you kind of put them all together and you put them in a portfolio and you and you just go, “Wait a second.” Like this this is going to change. Like this is going to change. And so if you’re a Magic fan and you’re feeling demoralized, disillusioned, or whatever the case may be, I don’t think you should be. I think you I think you need a little bit of patience and as hard as that is with the expectations for this team coming into the season, I do and really what the fan base has been through with like the injuries and underperformance and the three-point shooting. Oh my gosh, the three-point shooting like like that the humidity in Orlando is crazy or whatever it is. Um, so I I recognize that, but like yeah, there’s too many indicators. This is this is just going to turn around. Actually, Jaylen Suggs assist percentage and turnover percentage splits are 28% 26%. Like that’s that is an indicator or a reflection of somebody who is doing things way beyond what his optimal skill sets are. He is I I promise you, you will not find I’ve never heard of that before. 28% 26%. I’ve literally never heard of that before. Outrageous. They’re they’re asking him to like run sets and initiate offense. And again, like I wouldn’t go so far as to say, and I’m not saying you said this, but I’m repeating your point, echoing your point, I I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a fake point guard, but do I want him to be one of the main drivers of my offense when like his best skill is his offball gravity and how great he is at shooting off the catch? Of course not. When France Vagner and Palo Ben Carro are on my team, do you know how infuriating it is to watch Palo Beno just stand above the break and do nothing and like he’s just standing there and like say what you want about Paulo, if he’s going to just be spacing above the break, you’re giving the rest of the defense a free help defender, they’re going to rotate off him. It makes it way harder on the rest of the team. And you are, what did you say before we hopped on here? You’re basically inviting the defense to be the best version of itself. You’re like saying like, “Here, here you go. You can have your defenders all play their optimal roles, all be at their most impactful. We’re just going to let you do that.” They’re choosing to do that. It’s bananas. And like, like you said, assuming they have the self-awareness to recognize that this stuff needs to change. assuming, which is I agree with you, a pretty safe assumption, Bane’s shooting is going to get better. Uh, Anthony Black’s shooting probably can get better. He’s down a little bit. Palo Vancer’s shooting definitely can get better. All this stuff can happen and they’re already destroying teams when those five play together. You have to be able to assume that the bench is going to get better. Like, this this team ceiling remains a top seed in the East, as bananas as that might sound to some people. No, I totally agree. I I I want to throw it back to you because I want to ask you if we get to and you kind of hinted at this. We get to the end of the season and the Magic are in the playin, things didn’t go well. Um, let’s just say we time warped and I told you, yeah, it’s the it’s the playin and the Magic are in there and they’re fighting for their lives to, you know, get in as the AC seed. But everybody was healthy this season. They didn’t have injury issues. you know, Mo Vagner came back at some point. Everybody was pretty healthy. What would you say went wrong to cause them to be in this situation at that point? Like, like what could you even hypothesize? It’s like, you just woke up out of a coma. I’m sorry I put you in a coma, but you woke up out of that’s the good news. Um, and when you woke up, I just told you this information. I’m just like, what do you think happened? What would you say? I would assume that there’s an interim head coach and they are planning planning to do a fullcale coaching search in the offseason. That would be my assumption. There can’t it just I’m not saying it’s like literally 0% but it’s such an overwhelming favorite to be their coach did not maximize this group of players did not leverage each of their uh their their best skills and decided to like lean on familiar tropes. Oh, Jaylen Suggs, you play point guard, you’re the point guard. Uh oh, Anthony Black, you’re in. I guess you’re the point guard now. You should hold it more than Fron. And you know, Fran and Paulo are going to put up good counting stats because they’re out there. They play a lot of minutes. That’s just what they do. They’re good basketball players, but if they’re not, you know, homecourt advantage in the East, those two were not maximized in the way they should be. I love that answer cuz I I totally agree with you. And what we’ve seen from NBA teams, like it hasn’t been a thing always where coaches would fire their coach in the middle of the season or towards the end of the season. Now we’re seeing it with a lot more regularity in terms of like the Memphis Grizzlies. We’ve seen the Denver Nuggets and these situations where it’s like, oh, they can’t fire their coach at this point. And it’s like, yeah, you know what? If we have this kind of these kinds of expectations for the team and we think that they are this good and it’s not working out the way we would expect the Milwaukee Bucks even then we’re going to make a change. We’re we are going to make a change. We’re not going to just stand pat and say ah we’ll wait till next season. Next season is who knows what happened next what happens next season. You have France Vagner uh who is starting to come on like his counting stats are not are not looking insane but he’s starting to play like himself and and and really early in the season last season when he was an allNBA easy allNBA player. Palo Benero is starting to come on you know Jaylen Suggs is already playing exceptionally well like just coming back these guys Tristan Dilva looks like a much better player than he has been in the past like these things are happening Desmond Bane will start to come on like we’ve talked about over and over again and if all of that happens and somehow the deployment is suppressing the ceiling and the the the ability of this team Jamal Mosley is not going to make it. So, so I I do think that that that something has to change there. And actually, you can’t I know that you know the the the the corporate answer per se is to say if if you know I were a media credential and I was able to ask a GM or an owner this question, they would say, “Oh, well, we’re just running our race. We don’t pay attention to other teams.” But at a certain point, you got to look at the Cleveland Cavaliers who had homec court advantage and made the second round two years ago and said, “This isn’t good enough. We we’re we’re going to we need it. We don’t just need a change of vibes. We need a an entire overhaul of how this is run.” And now if if you watch tape from the 2024 Cavs versus the 2025 Cavs, it’s two different teams, same roster, two different teams. how the players are staggered, how they’re deployed, entirely different. The Magic play the Knicks Wednesday night, they just made the conference finals and they said, “This was not good enough. We need to raise the ceiling.” I promise you, Magic fans, watch some Knicks tape from last year and watch Wednesday night. It is two different teams. You are about to see what a team that just completely transforms its deployment looks like. And if the Magic don’t reach the heights that they’re supposed to this season, then the Magic in 2026, 2027 are probably going to have a transformation like the like the Cavs did and like the Knicks did. Incredible point. I think honestly the the point of the show. So if you’ve if you made it this far, then uh you got to hear the the peak of the show. We’re we’re going to we’re going to end it there. But again, if you made it this far, it’s your first time listening, please give us a subscribe. Uh, we have deep conversations like this about every NBA team. We’ve obviously talked about the Magic before. Both Jeff and I were high on the Desmond Bane trade and based on the first 11 games, I I don’t see enough information to really make me go away from that. Um, so we talk about the Magic and we talk about all teams around the NBA. So, if you haven’t subscribed yet, please give us a sub subscribe. Also, leave a comment. We respond to every single comment that ever appears on our channel as well. Um, so yeah, definitely appreciate you listening. Anything else you want to add, Jeff? Uh, to go on top of all the wonderful points that you’ve had throughout the show. No, just thanks to the Magic fans. They’re one of my favorite fan bases cuz we got that cool uh that cool Reddit post. That’s awesome. That’s like we don’t even have anything to do with that. People just sharing our stuff on Reddit and being like, “Hey, check these guys out. That’s awesome.” Like that’s that’s I don’t know. That’s one of the coolest things that’s ever happened in the history of the show as far as I’m concerned is just like people thinking highly enough of our analysis and the way we’re trying to like build this community that they want to spread the word. That’s um that’s awesome because it is just the two of us, you know, like and we’ve experienced pretty amazing growth. But yeah, it’s just two of us just doing this thing and trying to take it as far as it can. So yeah, thanks to anyone who made it this far and we appreciate you very much. We appreciate you Magic fans and all NBA fans who are checking us out. Uh for Jeff I am XJ and this has been highend theory.
On the 66th episode of Hot Hand Theory, Geoff and XJ explain why everyone wrote off the Orlando Magic way too early—and why this team is about to prove the doubters wrong.
After a bumpy 5-6 start with Desmond Bane struggling and close losses piling up, the media buried the Magic. But here’s what the panic merchants missed: this team has championship-level talent, a starting lineup that’s +19.1 per 100 possessions, and is experiencing cold shooting variance that won’t last. The fundamentals are elite. The pieces are all there. And everyone who wrote them off is about to look foolish.
Despite all this, there’s one thing holding them back: coaching deployment. We break down why Jamahl Mosley needs to unleash Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero as the primary initiators, why having three elite additive players (Bane, Suggs, Carter) around your two stars is a contender formula, and what tactical adjustments need to happen for Orlando to reach their ceiling.
We also explain why the Desmond Bane trade was brilliant even while he’s shooting poorly, how his gravity is already elevating Franz and Paolo, why the bench will bounce back, and what the game-winner symbolizes for this team’s trajectory.
We cover:
🔹 Why Desmond Bane’s shooting slump is variance, not a talent problem—and why it won’t last
🔹 The starting lineup’s dominance: +19.1 per 100 despite cold shooting
🔹 How Bane’s gravity is already improving Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero’s efficiency
🔹 The real problem: Jamal Mosley’s tactical deployment and why Franz needs the ball more
🔹 How the Magic compare to the East contenders and what they need to do to compete with New York and Cleveland
💬 Let us know in the comments: Will Desmond Bane turn it around? And is Jamal Mosley’s coaching holding this team back?
If you value analytical depth over hot takes and want NBA breakdown that explains WHY variance matters and HOW teams should deploy talent, subscribe and catch every episode.
#OrlandoMagic #Magic #DesmondBane #PaoloBanchero #FranzWagner #JalenSuggs #HotHandTheory #NBAPodcast #NBAAnalysis #MagicBasketball #EasternConference #NBASeason #NBA #GameWinner #BuzzerBeater #JamahlMosley
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Timestamps:
0:00 | Preview
0:58 | Intro: the Orlando Magic
3:41 | The Magic’s Bizarro Start
7:10 | Positive regression is coming
9:31 | Desmond Bane’s shooting+additive impact
13:55 | What could prevent Orlando from hitting its ceiling?
16:48 | Jamahl Mosley needs to give Paolo & Franz the keys
18:30 | Franz and Paolo’s synergy
24:26 | What if it doesn’t turn around?
27:30 | Following the Cavs and Knicks?
29:08 | Please Comment & SUBSCRIBE
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Finally some rational people talking about my team. It really feels like the team is getting better each game and the chemistry is building. Once Suggs is off that minutes restriction, Mo Wagner is back in the lineup, and the rotations are solidified, I see the Magic going on a run.
I don’t think y’all watch the games. Respectful Which is understandable, people can’t watch every game. But there all some structural flaws in this team. Talent is there but they are aimless. Mose gotta go
Great take on the Magic 💯
The credentialed media we have now is very skewed and honestly a little star struck imo 🤩
But they love the Magic like all us die hard Magic fans do and do a great job at what they do
Great take on what’s happening in Orlando yall 🔥
They’re struggling because they’re learning how to play like a contender, not because they lack the tools.
This isn’t a bad team losing. it’s a good young team learning how to win consistently.
Youtube put you guys on my homepage as a recommended video – this is my first time seeing you guys and I agree with everything you said. I think a key thing a lot of Magic fans don't consider is that 11 games in we've already had 3 back-to-backs. That's 6 games of inconsistent line ups because Jalen Suggs isn't playing 2nd nights yet. We've also definitely not seen the best of the starting 5 yet and they're already putting up great numbers as a unit. A lot of us probably just think about Bane slotting into the starting line up, but we forget that those other starting 4 players played together as a unit last season. I think I heard somewhere that Paolo, Franz and Jalen only played something like 90 minutes together all of last season. It's not just Bane getting used to them, but it's all of them getting used to each other.
Your comments about Moseley are spot on. There's already a lot of unhappiness from the fans but the real indicator will be if and when he ever loses the players. The roster is too good to let bad coaching hold it back. I really like Mose and hope he does get us playing to the level we expect, but I won't be entirely surprised if it doesn't happen and we're sitting here with a new head coach in 12 months time
I appreciated this take.
In regards to Suggs, injuries and the drafting Paolo have slowed down his development as the lead ballhandler. I think they should lean more into developing Suggs as a PG, so that the game becomes easier for Paolo. As was mentioned, running a PnR with Franz and Paolo is borderline pointless unless one of them becomes a 40% 3PT shooter. But a PnR with Suggs and Paolo? That makes sense. Same with Bane and Paolo. Get him some easy dunks, layups, etc.
This was always going to be a clarifying year for Mose. I like him. But if the Magic don't make the 2nd round, unfortunately for him you would have to make a change. Last 6 games the Magic are playing like a contender though. Top 10 offense and Top 10 defense in that span. 54 win pace. Paolo shooting over 50% from the field. A lot of the in house Magic players are having their best season or good seasons. Bane and Tyus only ones struggling. On paper…there is a dominant team in there.
Helluva analysis. Magic fan here! Thanks for calming me Down! 😂❤️🔥
Geoff sed the biggest truth:
1st- Orlando Magic problem is Jamahal Mosley.
He don't know how to teach Paolo Banchero.
He can't play with out the ball on hand, he pass the ball to late, the yo-yo ball handle don't allow the rest of the team free to abuse thanks to their individual talent. Paolo have to bo be more unselfish, he has to play better defense. Mosley coach every Night the same way, he take out Wagner out in the 1st quarter when he have a hot hands, always sid him first before he sid down Banchero. He kneed to play more pick and rolls plays with D. Banes. Sugs kneed to shoot more when Banchero is off. Wagner don't get the respect from the referies. Onother problem they draft 2 rookies and they don't get playing time when is others rookies playing minutes every Night. Tyus Jones was a Bad sign when Russell Westbrook was a free agent. DaSilva kneed more minutes when Banchero is not producing. Better give to Jase Richardson minutes now he is going to be a better player better than Jones. Mosley is going to Lost his job if he don't do better with the bench players ans use more the rookies. Tarde Goga and Howard.
This Knicks Magic game will be interesting Geoff and XJ, who do you guys have winning tonight?
Also keep in mind we haven't played good teams. WCJ's shooting will regress. So while I agree with things you've said, I also think there won't be as much of regression to the positive due to playing better teams and WCJ regressing to the negative. Mos has to go. He's playing checkers, while other coaches are playing chess. His offense is rudimentary at best. These dudes need to go to the next level. Anything less than a 4th seed means Mos has to go.
Play Tha Song!!!
As a long time Magic fan, I appreciate your perspective and agree with everything you’ve laid out. I believe the team is starting to come together. My biggest concern coming into the season was Coach Moseley’s ability to maximize our guys potential. He has proven excellent at developing a team, but is he really the one who will push our team over the top. I also wonder how long a leash the front office gives him. All interesting things to watch as the season unfolds. I’ve learned not to put too much weight into preseason “expectations”……. Being a lifelong Jags fan cured me of that 😂 But I do believe if utilized properly, this team will be special and achieve great things.
As a Magic fan I do feel like this was an accurate representation of our team issues right now. I think among Magic fans it’s pretty spot on to expect this year to be a make or break year for Mose. My only issue with some is that people are already willing to bury Mose 11 games into the season. I’m willing to at least give him till mid-late Dec to turn things around. I think they’ll turn it around in all honesty but if it doesn’t change by the half-way point of the season then I do agree that this will be Mose’s last year. Just disagree with immediately tryna can him now
Mosley is the worst coach in the nba right now
Do not typically see such good coverage from non Magic exclusive content makers. Bravo and thank you.
There are a lot of frustrating things but the most frustrating thing for me is them not utilizing Jonathan Isaac optimally or TDS or Bane. There are a lot of hiccups but not successfully incorporating those guys is infuriating MOST TO ME. There's no way Jonathan Isaac should be playing less than 25 minutes. Basketball is about more than scoring it's about how impactful you are…whether you score or not. Every time JI on the floor he is IMPACTFUL. Even if he can only hit 3 pointers in one spot
I'm one of those Magic fans who've seen your recommendations. Solid takes. Subscribed,
Start calling Franz The boogie Man instead of just Boogie
Because he's a nightmare for opponents
28:35 KNICKS transformed their deployment and still got cooked lmao
The Magic beating the knicks was a statement win last night!!! Shout out to Franz x Desmond x AB x Suggs x WCJ and the crew leading the way LFG!!! 🪄✨️
and they just blew out new york in new york with paolo out the 2nd half, they got their mojo back
The follow up game vs the Knicks without Paolo made them look really poised
Once the Magic fully click they are gonna be a absolute monstrosity of a team! 💪🏻🏁🔥🏀🏆
Hey guys youtube sent me your way as a magic fan. Enjoyed the conversation and pretty accurate assessment. I would dispute that Mose is utilising Suggs or Black as traditional PG at the expense of Paolo or Franz. Franz and Paolo handle the ball plenty, they are increasingly using Bane / Paolo actions, Bane seems to be initiating more than Suggs. Think they are slowly working out how to work together. Looking forward to watching it come together
Bring in mark jackson!
Well, this take aged well.
I try not to get too high when the Knicks are winning, not too low when they are losing. The ongoing giant unanswered question remains: Can the Knicks continue to thrive against teams stacked with athletic longbois who are a̶l̶l̶o̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶o̶u̶l̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶e̶a̶t̶e̶d̶l̶y̶ ̶renowned for their defensive prowess? We don’t have new answers after last night.