Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley Speaks on 'Chess Match' of Facing Mavs' Luka Doncic

Former Mavs assistant coach and current Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley spoke about the "chess match" that goes into facing Luka Doncic.

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, marking another instance of Luka Doncic facing former Mavs assistant coach and current Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley. As an assistant on Rick Carlisle's coaching staff, Mosley was with the Mavs from 2014 until 2021 before taking the head coaching job with the Magic. 

When game planning against the Mavs, Mosley stressed how it all starts with Doncic due to how much of Dallas' offense begins with his ability to break the defense down and make a play either as a scorer, or with the pass. However, accounting for Dallas' perimeter shooting threats and offensive rebounding is essential.  

"Number one: Luka. Number two: Luka. Number three: 3-point shooting," Mosley said of top priorities to focus on against the Mavs. They do a great job on the offensive glass and just finding shooters. When Luka gets going, he finds those guys, whether you're double teaming him — if it's isolation, he's getting a shot going, so it all starts and ends with him, but just being able to mix up the coverages and the defenses to make things a little bit different."

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Doncic scored 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, fully displaying his dynamic scoring arsenal. Despite tying for the fourth-highest-scoring individual performance in NBA history, Mosley sees even greater potential for him.  

" It was absolutely incredible," Mosley said of Doncic's performance. "The way that he put on that display was special. I mean, I don't know if there's anything else to say other than he hasn't even reached where he could possibly go [yet]. And that's 73 points was part of it."

Regarding where Doncic has improved recently, Mosley views him as an even greater floor general now — communicating with his teammates at a higher level to create advantages for the offense. 

"I watch him on the court, and he's just, there's so much more communication with the guys and telling them where to be, where to move, which direction, what he sees in the pick and roll," Mosley said. 

"I think before, there were times that, you know, he recognized it and saw it, and now he's just able to communicate it at such a high level," Mosley explained. "Then, his ability to encourage guys to keep doing more, to keep getting better, to keep finding different pockets on the floor. I think that's a big piece."

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When facing a player with an advanced understanding of the game and the skill to capitalize Doncic possesses, Mosley views a matchup's progression as a chess match. A defense has to throw defense looks at him, or he will figure it out and exploit it at any given moment. 

"The chess match, like when you're going against one another in-game, it's nonstop throughout the game," Mosley said. "If he makes a shot, he's going to look over. If he turns it over one time when you double-team him — yes, it's coming — he's going to look over, and then he'll act like nothing's happened. I'll try not to make a face and know what the next move is coming, but with him, it's always a chess match.

"From the beginning of the game to the end, being as highly competitive as he is, we're going after it," Mosley explained. "Our teams are both going after it, but at the end of the day, the friendship will always be there."