Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on "In The Zone" with Brandon Kravitz 11/4/22

[Knightro]

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley joined Brandon Kravitz and Mike Tozzi on "In The Zone" on Friday afternoon. I edited the rambling questions down to their most basic forms.

Here is the transcript.

Kravitz: First and foremost congrats. I know they all technically count the same, but that one does feel a little bit different.

Mosley: That was a great win for us last night. Coming off the heels of that Oklahoma City game, our guys bounced back and played the right way which was fantastic to see and feel.

Kravitz: How impressed are you with Jalen Suggs’ performance and his ability to bounce back?

Mosley: Well that was what made us so happy. You talk about a young team and they’re growing. Just to see that quick bounce back from the game. That means they’re listening and trying to take in all the things that we’re asking them to do. You saw it in the game last night. Down 15 and able to come back no matter what was happening within the game.

Kravitz: When Suggs got that steal on Steph Curry and Steph fouled him immediately, he came over and you guys had this embrace. It was the most genuinely player to coach interaction that I think I’ve ever seen.

Mosley: It actually happened when Draymond fouled him after he stole the ball from Draymond, but you know what this kid has been through so much. You talk about resilency and toughness and grit. Because it’s not easy. What he’s done has been just awesome, staying the course and not getting down on himself. Trying to stay the course no matter how much adversity hits him.

Kravitz: To win against the Warriors on a night where Steph, Klay and Draymond all showed up, what does that do for confidence?

Mosley: Our young guys, they believe. You talk about the fans last night, they helped us believe even more. That place was rocking! That gave an amount of energy to our guys, that they knew they had that support. But our guys believe in what they’re doing and what we’re building. They know how special they can become if we continue to do the things we know we’re capable of doing. The little things. It’s a boost of confidence for that side for sure.

Kravitz: Were you doing a lot of yelling last night?


Mosley: I was just trying to yell over the crowd, which is great. Well, now it’s great. But last night was tough because you’re trying to get guy’s attention to change matchups, what plays we’re running, help these guys understand. That’s also what’s so good about it. These guys, they pick up so many things on the fly and make the adjustments when necessary.

Tozzi: Does a performance like that cement Jalen Suggs as the lead guard moving forward?

Mosley: We’ve told all these guys that they have to continue to work. Obviously with injuries and guys bouncing in and bouncing out, it’s a long year. We know what he’s capable of doing. You saw a ton of that last night. That will be a demand that we’re going to ask him to do, for sure.

Tozzi: How about Kevon Harris? Is he in the rotation going forward?

Mosley: You are trying to throw my rotation all in a line right now *laughs* That’s the great thing about this team and we’ve said it time and time again and they know it, we’re going to do this thing by committee. These guys understand when their number is called, they’re ready and they stay ready. Caleb played short minutes last night, but he had a big time impact. Chuma’s minutes, Kevon’s minutes, RJ’s minutes, Mo bumping in, these guys know they have to stay ready no matter what happens and they believe in each other for those moments.

Tozzi: How nice is it to see Hampton and Okeke play the way they played last night?

Mosley: It was great. That first quarter they had some big time plays and then down the stretch, the big shot RJ banks one in. His ability to not give up on a play when he turns it over, he sprints back, gets a steal. Comes back down, gets an offensive rebound. Those hustle and heart plays are what helps you know these guys are staying ready and that they’re gonna play their minutes no matter what’s going on.

Tozzi: Was last night just one of those things where Bol Bol didn’t really get in the flow of things?

Mosley: I think so. Teams are starting to try and figure out ways to try and play him. Whether they’re putting a big or a small on him. He understands that. He and I had a great conversation about it today. He’s just learning how to get into the flow of the game. We’re 9 games in and it’s gonna be an on-going process for him and for all of our guys.

Tozzi: How important was it that Paolo took over that alpha dog role in the third quarter?

Mosley: That was it right there. I think Paolo understanding the moment, obviously that first half he came out a little slow, but then in the 2nd half he talked about it in the locker room. Knowing he can get to his spots and get to his shots. There’s gonna be times where guys are going to be asked to make difficult, tough shots. We want to continue to move the basketball and move bodies, all those things, but there are guys who are going to have to take and make difficult shots at times.

Kravitz: Have you thought about the injured guys - Fultz, Isaac, Harris - returning in the not too distant future?

Mosley: I have begun to think about that. It’s a good problem to have. Absolutely. That’s why I say over and over again it’s gonna be done by committee. We want guys who are going to compete and level each other up no matter who they’re on the floor with or how long they’re on the floor. Our guys get that. That’s the beauty about this team. They’re all pulling in the same direction no matter what, no matter who.

Kravitz: How do you balance wanting your team to feel this win, but also moving on to the next game?

Mosley: I think you use the 24-hour rule. You look at the Oklahoma City game, you let it sting and you understand what you let get away. You digest it and see how you can get better, but then tomorrow you have to come to work. The same thing applies to the Golden State game. Celebrate it and enjoy it for 24 hours, but know we have Sacramento coming in tomorrow. Celebrate it, but then you have to move on because the games keep coming fast. You don’t have time to get too high or too low because we have another opponent all the time.

Tozzi: What was the message to the team after the OKC game?

Mosley: The big message was just to trust the small things. Dominate the simple. Sometimes it’s just making the easy play. We got ourselves caught in situations where we were trying to make a home run play or a big dagger play, but I think when you start to do that you take away from the flow from what got you the 12 and 15 point lead in the first place. That was the message. Just make the simple play. Dominate the little things and that will get you where you’re supposed to go. That’s what we concentrated on last night.

Kravitz: At media day you told us if you started to repeat yourself in the post game press conferences we should inform you about it. After the OKC game, you went in a completely different direction. We appreciated the spice.

Mosley: *laughs* I can’t say I was thinking about you guys in that moment. But I will work on not sounding as cliche as possible. We’re trying to say a lot of the same things because we want these guys to understand exactly what we want and need from them.

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[Knightro]

Mosley's answers are as generic as it gets

Ten minute interview where he basically said nothing.

[sChOlaRlY_Magi]

Still, thanks for making it more digestible knightro!

[SOUL]

Still, thanks for making it more digestible knightro!

You gotta fix that sig, my guy. It's humongous lol

[DSN1423]

Thanks for that, you can understand some of the answers considering the shape of the roster with injuries

[fendilim]

Mosley's answers are as generic as it gets

Ten minute interview where he basically said nothing.

Lol gotta wonder if they have public speaking training even for coaches haha

[Ducklett]

Brandon kravitz is a total joke. Whoever gave him his job should be fired. How embarrassing that Coach had to correct his question. Yikes.

[sChOlaRlY_Magi]

Still, thanks for making it more digestible knightro!

You gotta fix that sig, my guy. It's humongous lol

Yeah, the crazy thing is I reposted something on Facebook iirc, and it started auto placing that in my signature here !

I'll go back to uncheck the sig, and it makes a double post.

I haven't rooted around in settings because I'm mainly on my phone here, and a bit lazy.

I'll look into it now that I've been called out! lol