ORLANDO — With all the emphasis on improving offensive pace, Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley wanted to pump the brakes for day three of training camp on Thursday.
"I think today's focus," Mosley said. "Was really just about slowing the game down a little bit, mentally. We threw a lot at them in those first couple of days, and so now today was more of a teaching day."
The Magic are introducing several new faces. From veterans like Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones to rookies Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, each player has a lot to get acclimated to.
"They played a lot more, so going back and reviewing the film, things we can clean up both offensively and defensively."
During the first two days of camp, the coaching staff implemented a physical approach to prime the roster for the first preseason game against the Miami Heat in Puerto Rico on Saturday. Now, it is time to hone in on IQ.
"The first two days were a ton of just get up and down, work on the conditioning, work on the quick decision making, playing without thinking as much," Mosley said. "And then today was a day where we slow it all the way down and put it all into place to where they can think the game through, know the exact reads we're going for both offensively and defensively.
"So now they can really process it all the way through. It is a process that the coaches have all talked about. You know, you don't want to get too far ahead. You understand your timeline of just being able to put certain things in play and what guys can grasp onto."
The process is made more seamless thanks to the Magic’s returning core and veteran presence the roster boasts.
“The beauty of also having guys that have been together and then adding some veterans, you're actually moving faster than you need to because these guys are picking it up pretty quickly.”
Specifically, it has been very beneficial for Richardson and Penda, who received the foundations of what Orlando is trying to do in the Summer League, an experience that is making the speed of the NBA manageable.
“It is fast, but I really think in that part Coach Ameer [Bahuur] did a great job in the summer league of getting those guys to understand exactly what we were trying to do,” Mosley said. “So that's the beautiful part about summer league. They are so inquisitive. Noah and Jase ask some of the best questions because they want to know and they're not afraid to ask because the environment we've created with not just those guys, but the veterans that everybody has to be able to have a voice in what we're doing.
“So they understand exactly when they're on the floor, what they're being tasked to do.”