The Orlando Magic could not get past the first round of the playoffs again, but there is more to it than Franz Wagner's injury or Jamahl Mosley's coaching limitations.
After firing head coach Jamahl Mosley following another first-round playoff exit, the Orlando Magic will need to find the right fit to be the franchise’s 16th head coach. Additionally, the front office has to make decisions on more than who will lead the roster.
The Magic did not just lose in the first round to the Detroit Pistons, they watched a 3-1 series lead slip away after Franz Wagner suffered a right calf strain. Wagner’s absence hurt Orlando, but other issues in the series became glaring, notably the play of the guards.
Both Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black struggled to score during the series, and Suggs hit a low point of his offensive production after averaging 11.1 points on 29.9% shooting through seven games. Now that the Magic have decided to keep President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman in the building for the foreseeable future after he signed a contract extension during the regular season, the onus will fall on him to make decisions about Suggs and Black.
Recently, Don Strouble of Roundtable Sports gave his take on the two guards.
"You know, Anthony Black, sooner than later, decisions are going to have to be made about his contract," Strouble said. "And, you know, after a really, really nice year in which he grew exponentially on the offensive end, which was, you know, a component of the presence of assistant coach, God Shammgod, who really helped him with his handle.
And just, you know, other things, other aspects of his game, you know, but then in the playoffs, he reverted back to the same Anthony Black, he went from averaging, I believe 15 a game through the regular season, which was big time jump back to I think it was a little over eight points in that playoff series and just struggled to shoot the ball. And, you know, they really could have used him when Franz went down, at least as an offensive presence, and he just could not deliver."
"Jalen Suggs," Strouble continued. "Like, I mean, Jalen Suggs, the good news about his contract is that the amount of money declines year after year, but that was a brutal, brutal showing on the offensive end by Jalen in this playoff series. In seven games, Suggs went 29.9% from the field 24.1% from three, he averaged 11.1 points per game. Yeah, that's just not going to do it. There's two games where he made only one shot.
So, after that first quarter in game one, where he really helped uplift the Magic, and even then that didn't end up being his best shooting game, but he started hot and it gave the Magic momentum on route to a game one win in Little Caesars Arena. And so, you know, what do you do with him? Right? Like this is a team that could really benefit from having a real point guard and floor general out there."
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