Jamahl Mosley’s recipe for tough Magic defense: Studying to avoid ‘silly fines’

Wendell Carter Jr. lives in constant fear. At any moment, his bank account could run out – or so he thinks.

Carter, along with the rest of his young teammates, is aware of a culture of supposedly strict accountability within the Orlando Magic locker room. This group prides itself on its defense. He will pick up dribblers all over the court, collide with them on the way to the hoop, and scare away those who dare to enter the paint. Few, if any, teams are more physical than the Magic. And few teams are as well studied.

If Carter or anyone else fails in this last task, then they will be in trouble.

Inside the Magic, Carter said, is a court system of light fines, ones that address, as Carter calls them, “stupid fouls.” These are the ones that should never happen, the hacks that flow from moves that Orlando’s players should know, according to the scouting report.

For example, Sacramento Kings wing DeMar DeRozan uses his pump fake to send defenders flying, then flies toward his closest opponent to create free throws. Bite on a fake DeRozan and you’ll be fined. Hit James Harden behind the wheel as he holds out the basketball, prompting an unprepared defender to slip his hands, Harden’s signature move for more than a decade, and the fine comes too.

The Magic just played New York and Brooklyn last week. The goals leading up to it: Don’t let point guards Jalen Brunson or Dennis Schröder throw away picks, swinging in the opposite direction as their controllers.

If so, each fine amounts to a modest $100, Carter said.

“It works,” Magic guard Cole Anthony said. “You know, people don’t like to lose money.”

But Anthony never had to pay the $100 forfeiture — neither did Carter, nor fellow countryman Goga Bitadze, nor any of the other rambunctious newcomers responsible for building one of the NBA’s strongest defenses. All mentioned that they were focusing too much on the scouting report to make these unforced errors.

Of course, there’s another reason they held on to their money.

Much to the surprise of the Magic’s young core, these fines don’t actually exist.

“They’re pretty stupid fines, I would say,” veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said.

Caldwell-Pope, a 31-year-old winger who has won titles with two other organizations, has seen this move before. The Magic coaching staff, whether head coach Jamahl Mosley or his assistants, comes up with idiotic fines to match the silliness of players’ mistakes and sarcastically presents them as penalties. The younger guys on the team, who make up most of the roster, believe they’re real. Caldwell-Pope understands that’s not the case. No one takes money out of anyone’s pockets. In fact, it wouldn’t even be allowed under NBA rules.

But the silly fines, along with everything else the Magic are doing to shape one of the league’s most fearsome defenses, are working, even if they don’t bring in extra money for the coaches.

“Our defensive culture, we lean on that,” Caldwell-Pope said. “This is our date. Every game we focus on defense.

A month and a half after the start of the season, it’s working. The Magic rank third in the NBA in points allowed per possession and sit at 17-9, fourth in the Eastern Conference, heading into Tuesday night’s NBA Cup quarterfinal game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Their identity is distinct. Orlando, in his best moments, turns basketball into rock fights. The Magic don’t score a lot but make sure whoever they play scores less. They care about what most would consider details. They don’t give up a lot of 3s, force lots of ineffective mid-range jumpers, and, because of their overwhelming size just about everywhere, are one of the best rim-protecting teams in the league.

They succeed despite injuries. The lone All-Star from last season’s group, Paolo Banchero, has missed his last 21 games. Orlando has won 14. Star Franz Wagner, who is in the mix of most improved players, was injured last week with an oblique injury and will miss at least a month. All the Magic did was win their first game without him, a hard-fought road victory in Phoenix.

“’Mose’ started the culture, man. That was him,” Anthony said of his coach. “From day one, that’s what he came in and said. He said we were going to be an elite defensive team, and he kept his word.

The players study enough to prove him right.

Mosley calls Magic’s film sessions “teaching sessions.” They are simple, but non-confrontational. If a player makes a mistake, they hear about it, so the team moves on.

During his first two seasons at the helm, Mosley directed most of the film sessions. Now the assistants listen to the path more often.

“It’s easier to have everyone echoing the same message,” Mosley said.

The players agree on what irritates their head coach the most: these real and stupid fouls that lead to false and even stupider fines. Mosley is obsessed with his opponents’ tendencies. When he presents them to players, they are not only essential. He tells the group that these are “the answers to the test.”

The coaching staff, as is the case with every team, puts together video packages for each player, explaining what to watch for in an upcoming opponent. Forget the field mission, let Schröder dismiss a screen as he telegraphed his actions from the start, and prepare to hear about it – even if the fine never arrives.

“He said, ‘I’m not going to let this mistake continue to happen,'” Carter said. “It’s, ‘OK, you made the mistake.’ But if you keep making the mistake again and again, he will let you know.

Mosley sidelines players in the game after replacing them more than the average head coach, explaining to them in the moment why he’s pulling them, whether it’s because of a bad turnover or a defensive assignment sloppy. Often it is worth turning away from the court, if only for a moment, to impart a lesson for the future.

“Coaching is teaching, and you can’t teach by yelling and screaming and yelling,” Mosley said. “You teach with communication and positivity, because that’s how I think a lot of these guys will record it.”

Teaching is especially needed in Orlando, even though the Magic is loaded with competitive defenders.

They are massive; six players who warrant minutes are 6-foot-10 or taller. When healthy, no rotation player is shorter than 6-foot-5.

They will also punch you in the face.

Moe Wagner would take care of his own mother. Jalen Suggs would be destined for defensive accolades no matter who coached him. He regularly pressures dribblers on the 94-footer, as does energetic second-year guard Anthony Black. It’s no coincidence that the attacks start unusually slowly against Orlando. Rookie winger Tristan Da Silva is already bouncing back on tough defensive assignments. Bitadze has become a renowned rim protector since joining the Magic last season. Carter, Caldwell-Pope and Jonathan Isaac, who might be the best defenseman per minute in the East (or maybe the world), can cause nightmares. Basketball fans rave about defenders who can do it to change in any position. Well, Isaac can to start on anyone. The Magic will throw him to a point guard on one possession and a cross on the next.

The Magic have steadily improved since hiring Mosley in 2021, winning 22 games in his first season, 32 in his second, then 47 in 2023-24, when they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven hard-fought games. games.

“Your culture is the type of guys you bring in, the type of people you have around,” Mosley said. “If you’re a defensive team, then you probably have some defensive guys because you can’t be a defensive team and have all the shooters not defending.”

But the Magic is still young. Seven of their regular players are 25 or younger, which Mosley says gives the team an advantage. Suggs and Black can harass ball handlers the length of the court without tiring. No one needs to worry, as Mosley says, about “old man, I’ll save my legs.”

There may be something to Mosley’s theory, although it often takes time for young professionals to get accustomed to the speed of the game. The three best defenses in the league right now (the Magic, the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder) fit the same description: young, enthusiastic teams with fresh legs, a voracious approach to loose balls, overwhelming athleticism, and a kind of unhealthy passion for taking punches at home. mouth.

All three employ coaches who also teach. And Mosley isn’t just doing it for this season. He instills habits in a group that hopes to compete in the long term.

“As far as the defense goes, everyone takes pride in it,” Caldwell-Pope said. “They are young. They want hoops. They want to play. And there are other ways to stay on the ground than just attacking.

(Top photo of Jalen Suggs and Jamahl Mosley: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)