Orlando Magic faced up tonight against the
Portland Trail Blazers in one of the six games scheduled for this
NBA Monday. With Orlando being 5th in the Eastern Conference and the Blazers at the bottom of the Western standings, the game appeared as almost a guaranteed win for
Jamahl Mosley' squad, However, Portland put up a fight and according to Mosley, his team wasn't playing "by the Magic standards".
Coach Mosley was visibly frustrated with the team's lack of effort tonight in front of their home crowd, and did not hesitate to call out his guys as soon as the press conference began, right after the game ended with a victory for Orlando by the slightest margin, 104-103.
"Before we start, you know you gonna ask to talk about the Magic standard, and how we play, that wasn't it tonight. Portland, give them credit for how they battled, and stayed in the game, but we have to be better, very simple. We have to be a better style of basketball to where we just don't play with the game. Respect the game of basketball and play it the right way, from the beginning to the end. And that's what we have to continue to do to grow and learn. We talked about learning from those three losses...this is a win where we gonna learn to how we have from how we have to respect and approach every single night when we come out," stated Orlando's head coach.
This is a clear call out for his young team, who perhaps saw this game as an opportunity to relax against a team that was virtually playing for nothing, but that absolutely gave the Magic a very nice run for their money.
With this victory, Mosley became the 5th coach in franchise history to reach 100 wins, joining some other important names such as Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy. A great accomplishment by a coach that has redefined Orlando's culture, based on making this team a defensive force.
The Magic ranks second this campaing in defensive rating, only behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.
