Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley Giving Paolo Banchero Green Light to Take Over

After a decisive victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Orlando Magic will be looking to Paolo Banchero in the postseason.
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The Orlando Magic is celebrating after convincingly beating the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, 111-96. 

A balanced scoring attack by the Raptors was simply no match for Paolo Banchero's dominance and the excellent supporting play from the Wagner brothers.

Orlando has won eight of the last ten games and holds the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. However, with the New York Knicks continuing to be bit by the injury bug, the Magic is more likely to move up than move down. 

Paolo Banchero Devin Booker Suns
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As Orlando prepares for a playoff push and remains hopeful about a deep run, coach Jamahl Mosley expressed the faith he has in his sophomore superstar.

“I think that’s the mark of a great player. You know you understand how a team’s playing you in one situation and you don’t come back out and force it. I thought he did a great job of letting the game come to him," Mosley said about Banchero's performance against the Raptors.

"He was able to get downhill, find the right things in the game, make the right pass. He found his teammates a ton. I think his ability to be aggressive the right way is exactly what we’re asking him to do."

Orlando has not been an elite three-point shooting team all season, so Banchero's willingness to find the open man or create for himself inside the arc will be a key to the Magic's playoff success.

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While Orlando plays an unselfish brand of basketball, knowing who the best player is and letting them play their brand of basketball will be key in matchups against teams with more talent, like the Boston Celtics.


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Jonah Kubicek
JONAH KUBICEK

Jonah Kubicek has been writing about the NBA since 2021, covering the Pistons, Jazz, Spurs, Magic, Rockets, and Knicks. As a lifelong Spurs fan living in Michigan, he never misses an opportunity to bring up the 2005 NBA Finals (you should have guarded Horry!). He is a long-suffering Tigers fan and closely follows the NFL, although he never found an affinity for the Lions. Jonah graduated from Oakland University with a degree in History and spends his spare time playing tennis or reading. Follow Jonah on Twitter for updates on Tre Jones and other NBA news.