The Orlando Magic will play their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and coach Jamahl Mosley wants them adhering to their standard.
ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic will conclude their regular season slate of home games by hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
The Magic are winners of three-straight games and own the eight seed in the Eastern Conference with a 43-36 record. Before the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley talked about the approach needed against the Timberwolves, who are without several key players such as Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert.
“You focus on our standard,” Mosley said. “How we want to play, and obviously, do we learn from the lessons of games before? And I think that's a big portion of what we have to do tonight. How we want to play both defensively and offensively, how we want to share the ball like we have been, how do we continue to sit down and guard?
“It doesn't matter who's on the floor; who they put out there,” Mosley added. “It is about our standard and how we want to come out.”
Conversely, the Magic have made Wendell Carter Jr. and Jamal Cain available for Wednesday’s contest after Carter suffered a nasal fracture and Cain suffered a left calf contusion in Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.
A consistent presence in Orlando’s lineup has been Desmond Bane, who in his first season with the Magic is set to play in his 80th game of the season on Wednesday — a career-high mark. Bane is also a finalist for the Teammate of the Year award, and Mosley took the time to praise his dependability.
“Yeah, I think it says a lot about his professionalism,” Mosley said. “His demeanor, his approach to every single day, making sure he's taking care of his body; doing all the right things.
“I mean, that's a goal he set out for, to be able to do that, and I think it says even more about what we know and who he is. I mean, we've talked about all the great things he's done, but for him to put that goal out on the table and be able to do it, that says a lot about the man that he is.”
This season, Bane has averaged 20.5 points per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range.
Mosley also talked about the brand of basketball the Magic want to play against the Timberwolves and in the final two games of the regular season. He also reiterated that the Magic have to respect their opponent, despite Minnesota’s players who will be in street clothes.
“It's every game,” Mosley said. “You focus on what you do. You focus on how you want to play.
We've talked about the games where you see us play, and it's not our best brand of basketball, and you can call it out. Tonight is one of those nights you want to play your best brand of basketball moving forward. And that's all you can take care of tonight.
“I go back to it. No matter who they put on the floor, these are NBA guys,” he added. “These are guys that know how to play. They're guys that know how to win; they've got a winning coach. All those things are real things, and we understand exactly what they can do, understanding the personnel who's out there.”
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