Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black has been a key piece in the team's recent success, and he is ready for the challenges ahead.
ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls Monday for their sixth-straight win at home. Once again, Anthony Black played a big part.
Black scored 22 points off the bench and, for the second straight game, had the highest +/- of anyone who touched the floor.
As the Magic’s sixth man, Black understands the importance of production coming from the bench.
“Since I've been here, the bench has always took pride in trying to be the best bench in the league,” Black said. “So, that's something we're trying to do again this year. Obviously, we feel like we have the talent. We feel like it's our responsibility to come in and change the game. So tonight, we did a good job of that.”
“You see everybody off the bench was positive, except everybody off the bench was positive. I was going to say Noah [Penda}, but he played a great game, too. So it's like everybody's contributing. We'reall trusting each other. We're getting in. We know our responsibilities. And we're just trying to flip the game, bring some energy in whenever the first group might not have it for that first stint.”
Part of Black’s productive play has been his improvement in ball handling, shotting off the dribble and more, which he credits to the work he has put in with assistant coach, God Shammgod.
“Obviously, those are things I'm working on with Sham,” Black said. “Ball handling, shooting off the dribble, different finishes inside the three -point line. But I think the biggest development is just my aggression and just, you know, I don't know, me just going out there, trying to score, trying to get to the rim every time, and then shooting my open shots.”
“I think it's just a mentality shift more than anything, you know. And, yeah, I mean, it's just I'm having fun, having a lot of fun again. And, yeah, it's just fun.”
Orlando has found its stride after a shaky start to the year. Since going 2-4 in October, the Magic have won 11 of their last 15 games, including a 4-0 run through the group play stage of the NBA Cup. With formidable opponents such as the Spurs, Heat and Knicks coming up, Black is embracing the challenge ahead.
“We know we got some good opponents coming up. But at the end of the day, we've shown we can compete with any team we're in on our game.”
“So, I think it's just about us continuing to just do what we do and clean up the things we need to clean up, I think. As long as we do that and we keep getting better, we'll be in most of the games we play.”