The Orlando Magic are in a world of pain entering Tuesday’s home encounter with the Phoenix Suns — and coach Jamahl Mosley is pointing the finger at himself.
Orlando (39-35) has lost seven of its past eight games, with the most-recent setback serving as the worst in franchise history.
The Magic were blown away 139-87 by the host Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Orlando’s 52-point losing margin surpassing the club’s previous record set in 2017 in a 47-point defeat to the Chicago Bulls.
Mosley felt his side wasn’t ready for Toronto’s robust defense, and he took responsibility for it.
“I’ve got to do a better job preparing them for what they were going to see,” Mosley said. “We talked a little bit about it, but probably not enough. I’ve got to have them prepared for the physicality of the game, prepared for how much they were going to grab, hold, and get us off our spots. That’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job there with this group to make sure they’re prepared in the right way.”
The Raptors went on separate 31-0 and 24-4 runs and helped themselves to 37 points off a staggering 28 Orlando turnovers.
Jamal Cain coughed up six turnovers in eight minutes off the bench. Starters Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs registered five each.
“I tell you exactly what it is — I’ve got to make sure I do a better job for this group to get them and put them in the position to know exactly what they’re going to face on a night-to-night basis, especially with the last nine games — now eight games — coming down the stretch,” Mosley said. “That’s us as a group. We will go look at it. We’ll talk about it. We’ll make sure we practice it and make sure we get the job done knowing you’re going to see similar games coming down the stretch.”
Unlike the slumping Magic, Phoenix (42-33) has found its form again with the postseason nearing.
The Suns made it three wins in their past four outings with a 131-105 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Devin Booker scored 36 points on 16-of-24 shooting and Jalen Green added 21 for Phoenix, which outscored Memphis by a 40-16 margin in the fourth quarter.
“It only took 26 minutes (for Booker) to get 36 points, (with) no free throws,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “I thought he did a great job of mixing it all — it was rim, deep in the paint, 3-point line, and obviously at the midrange.
“He had all of it going and he just kept attacking, which is super helpful.”
Booker and Green both sat out the fourth quarter and will be well-rested in time for Orlando.
The Suns look set to be further buoyed with Dillon Brooks expected to make his return from an 18-game absence with a broken left hand. He is averaging a career-best 20.9 points in his first season at Phoenix.
Ott isn’t underestimating the out-of-sorts Magic.
“We know the last time we played them, (it was a) tight game,” Ott said, referring to the Suns’ 113-110 win in double overtime on Feb. 21.
“We know they’re big, they’re physical, they’re a playoff team. … Coming off that, I’m sure they’ll be juiced. But it’s about us — how we play, our process, what we do, our style of play. We know we’re going to find it.”
–Field Level Media
