Why Wendell Carter Jr. Getting His Swag Back is Crucial for Magic's Outlook

The Orlando Magic got a season-high 19-point contribution from Wendell Carter Jr. off the bench in Monday night's win over the New York Knicks. His role has fluctuated so far in his seventh NBA season, but he's "starting to get [his] swag back."

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) warms up before the game against the New York Knicks at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – In the NBA, stability in a role is a sought-after luxury. But few teams in the league are actually afforded it.

The Orlando Magic, especially this season, aren't one of them. Through 38 games, injuries have altered lineups past the point of recognition and individual roles have fluctuated.

Maybe no one better understands that better than Wendell Carter Jr., who is again finding his mojo after an up-and-down first third of his seventh season.

"I'm definitely starting to get my swag back," Carter said Monday night after the Magic's upset win over the New York Knicks. "That's something I kind of lost when I went down early."

Playing 26 minutes off the Orlando bench, Carter posted a season-high 19 points — nine coming in the fourth quarter — and dished out four assists. Entering the evening just 8-of- 50 from three this year, Carter was 3-of-3 from distance as the shorthanded Magic walked out of Madison Square Garden with a gritty win.

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) looks to drive past Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) and center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) in the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The 25-year-old began this season as Orlando's starting center. Less than two weeks into the season, however, he was dealing with tendinitis in his right knee and left foot plantar fasciitis.

His preseason goal was to be available for all 82 games. But by the end of November, he'd already missed 13 contests.

When he returned, Carter rejoined the first unit — but in a new position. Instead of being the lone center, he shifted to the four to play alongside Goga Bitadze, who has been excelling as Carter's replacement.

That pairing worked well for the Magic, but Moe Wagner's season-ending ACL tear threw another wrench into the plan. Now, Orlando's depth at center was down to two options. In the eight games since Wagner's injury, Carter has come off the bench in six of them.

"Coming back, trying to get back in tune with the team — went from starting and came off the bench a couple of games and back to starting, guys coming in and out of the lineup — it's kind of tough for me to just find my groove," Carter said.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley knows a lot is asked of players to accept that variance — uneven shares of minutes, sharing the floor with a rotating group of players at a time, etc. — and still have an impact. Orlando did its best in training camp to experiment with lineups to familiarize players with changing scenarios.

That said, there likely wasn't much work done without the Magic's top four scorers and three of their best playmakers. Halfway through the year, that's the situation facing Mosley's team. It's not permanent, but it's current.

"You've got to be able to accept that [and] understand your responsibility to the team," Mosley said at a team practice last week. "Speaking specifically of Wendell, he's good in both scenarios. Whether he's starting or coming off the bench, what we're asking him to contribute is similar in both roles: being a dominant presence in the paint, defending, both protecting the rim and in the pick-and-roll, then offensively being a playmaker."

Carter was all those things Monday. Besides the three made triples, he was 5-of-5 on shots taken in the lane. His 30.8% assist percentage was the highest of any Magic player in the game, and he had Orlando's second-highest player impact estimate (21.4) — a metric that factors in the entire box score for a player and gauges their all-around contribution.

"I thought he was great," Mosley said after the Knicks win. "I thought he played with a level of poise, confidence, [and] toughness. All the things that we continue to ask him to be and do, he did tonight. I think he was gigantic."

Absent Moe Wagner for the rest of the season, Orlando's bench is without one of the NBA's most prolific reserve scorers. Since he went down, the search for production in his place has led to multiple different contributors stepping up, but the Magic also seeks consistency there.

It's a small sample size, but Carter preceded Monday's showcase with a 15-point, six-rebound performance vs. Utah the night before. Reliance and dependability in Carter's second-unit impact would be a significant boost.

In victory, his rediscovered confidence also helped breed the aggression his teammates constantly try to eke out of him.

"He's a beast. We call him the 'Humble Beast,' " Cole Anthony said postgame Monday. "But we've been telling him, like, 'Yo, when Wendell is aggressive, he's an animal.' And today, he was aggressive, got after it and really helped us win this game. Hit some big shots, too."

"It's a lot of kudos to my teammates," Carter said. "They keep me [in] high spirits, tell me how good a player I am when I'm aggressive, like [Anthony] said. Tonight was just one of my nights for me and I helped my team get the dub."

Anthony, sitting next to him, then interjected: "He's going to have many more."

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) looks to drive past New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

At that final December practice, Mosley praised Carter's flexibility and willingness to take any change in stride.

"It's all about the team and what he needs to do for this team," Mosley said. "Again, it may not be comfortable in the moment, but that's what makes him him — that he'll find a way to adjust to whatever's thrown in his direction."

The more opportunities he has, the more comfortable Orlando's "humble beast" gets. He may smile and laugh when teammates refer to him that way, but that support matters.

If a rejuvenated Carter sustains this level of play in his role — no matter how the Magic refers to him — he helps the Magic call themselves winners.

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