The Orlando Magic are in a rough place, and they are getting the wrong kind of attention from the national media.
The last two-plus weeks have been anything but ideal for the Orlando Magic.
After producing a season best-seven-game winning streak in the first half of March, the Magic fell apart in the second half of the month; going 2-7 down the stretch of it. They started out April in ugly fashion as well by losing 130-121 to the Atlanta Hawks in a game that completed the season sweep for Atlanta.
Now, the national media has taken notice of Orlando’s woes, and ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins recently called the team out for quitting on head coach Jamahl Mosley.
“The biggest issue is that the Orlando Magic has quit on Jamahl Mosley,” Perkins said. “They quit. And if we go back, not from last game, go back to that game where they played Toronto a few nights ago; how embarrassing that was.
And it starts with Paolo Banchero, right? It starts from the top,” Perkins added. “Now, how many times this season has he come out publicly, post-game interview, and has threw his coach under the damn bus? He obviously don't want to play for Jamahl Mosley.”
Perkins played 14 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. During his soliloquy, Perkins continued to lambaste Banchero.
“And I wouldn't be surprised if he's fired. Does he deserve to lose his job? Hell no. Paolo Banchero has to play better,” Perkins said. “Paolo Banchero has to be a better leader. That is the problem. He's been inconsistent.
“If you ask me, DG, Wendy, Malika, he has taken steps back at the beginning of the season after the post-season run he had last season. We was expecting him to be in the conversation with the best of them.”
Speculation surrounding the stability of Mosley’s job has been the proverbial elephant in the room for months, and Banchero has denied any tension between the two in the past. After the trade deadline, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman endorsed Mosley, saying he will be the coach for the remainder of the season.
After the loss to the Hawks, Mosley addressed chants coming from the crowd inside the Kia Center calling for his job.
“Rightfully so,” Mosley said. “Rightfully so. Did we put out the effort that we needed to? Did we have the energy that we needed to? Nope. And we deserve to give these fans a better product on nights like this.
“We deserve to play harder and fight from the beginning of the game, not when we're down 20.These fans deserve that. Without a doubt.”
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