Going Above and Beyond
This award often goes to the coach whose team exceeded expectations the most. Last year, for example, Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings won this honor after his team won 59 percent of their games a year after winning just 37 percent of them the year before. Three seasons ago, Tom Thibodeau received it after his New York Knicks won 57 percent of their games a year after winning just 32 percent of them.
The Orlando Magic are on pace to make a similar jump. This year, so far, they’ve won 59 percent of their games. Last season, they won 41 percent of them, and the year before that, they won just 27 percent of the time.
Only once before in franchise history have the Magic won at least 60 percent of their games two years after winning under 30 percent of them. That was in the early 90s with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. In 1991-92, they won 26 percent of their games and two years later, with O’Neal in his second year and Hardaway in his first, they won 61 percent of the time.
Maximizing an Inexperienced Roster
It seems fair to say that there are six legitimate candidates for this award this year. They are the Magic’s Jamahl Mosley, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, the Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.B. Bickerstaff, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Willie Green.
Of these teams, the only one that didn’t have a single All-Star on their roster coming into the season were the Magic. In fact, the Celtics have five players on their roster that had been All-Stars before this season, the T-Wolves four, the Cavs three, the Pelicans two and the Thunder one.
Mosley has helped each of his players make tremendous strides this year. Paolo Banchero is now an All-Star, despite being just a second-year player. Franz Wagner’s numbers are up across the board. Jalen Suggs is a candidate for an All-Defensive Team and the Most Improved Player award. Both Moe Wagner and Cole Anthony are in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation. If the Comeback Player of the Year award still existed, meanwhile, Jonathan Isaac would be a lock for it.
Continuous Improvement
Since Jan. 28, the Magic are 19-7. The Celtics and Denver Nuggets are the only two teams with higher winning percentages in this timeframe. Meanwhile, since the All-Star break in mid-February, Orlando ranks No. 1 in defense.
Even though the Magic have the fourth-youngest roster age-wise, they are remarkably composed. In fact, they have a league’s highest winning percentage this season when leading going into the fourth quarter (35-1; 97.2 percent). Last season, they were 24-6 in this situation and the year before that just 14-9.
From Out of Postseason to In
Of the teams with Coach of the Year candidates, only the Magic didn’t make the postseason last year. The Celtics, T-Wolves and Cavs were in the playoffs, while the Thunder and Pelicans were in the play-in tournament. In addition to that, Orlando has a chance at being a top three seed in the East. With 11 games remaining, it is just one game back of third place. The Magic have the tiebreaker advantages over the Cavs (assuming Magic win division and Cavs don’t), Knicks and Pacers – which are the teams presently in third, fourth and sixth place, respectively.
Always Has Team Mentally Prepared
An important narrative this season of the Magic is that they have taken care of business at home against weaker competition. In fact, they are a perfect 14-0 against opponents that are currently under .500 at the Kia Center. At one point that was 15-0, but presently the Houston Rockets, whom the Magic beat at home in the season opener, are 35-35.
It's not common for teams to go an entire season undefeated against the weaker. The 76ers, Pacers, Suns and Heat this season, for instance, are a combined 42-20 against sub-.500 teams in their respective buildings. Orlando still has three games left at Kia Center against teams under .500 (Memphis, Portland and Chicago).
Much of the Magic’s success is tied to preparation. Mosley and his staff have done an outstanding job keeping the team locked in on the opponent at hand.