The Orlando Magic have not been playing good basketball over the past few weeks as they try to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference, and they may have hit rock bottom in their loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Magic were up 20-14 in the first quarter, then the Raptors went on a historic 31-0 run, and they didn't look back from there. It turned out to be a 52-point loss for the Magic.
After the game, head coach Jamahl Mosley shared that he didn't have the team prepared for what they saw.
“I’ve got to do a better job of preparing them for what they were going to see tonight,” Mosley said via Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “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 of 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, knowing exactly the sense of urgency that Toronto was going to play with … knowing the positioning that they were in for playoff positioning.”
Desmond Bane was asked about Mosley's answer about not having the team prepared, and though he didn't say much, it spoke volumes.
“I think that we understood how big of a game it was in that but I don't have nothing for that,” Bane said.
It's hard to say that Mosley has lost the locker room, but it wouldn't be a surprise if there was some sense of frustration with the group. The Magic were once a top-six seed in the East, but they're now sitting at No. 8 and are 2.5 games back of No. 6 with less than 10 games remaining.
Many have looked at Mosley and are uncertain about his future in Orlando past this season.
