At first, the bell inside the Orlando Magic’s training facility was used for the kind of plays in practice that don’t always show up in the box score: Diving on the floor for loose balls, drawing a charge, being vertical at the rim or any type of hustle play that demonstrate extra effort.
As the team has evolved in its second year under coach Jamahl Mosley, so has the bell’s usage.
The Magic still celebrate those hustle plays and want them to be a fabric of the team. But with better ball movement being emphasized, those bell-ringing moments have extended to plays where they create easier shots from beyond the arc.
“If the ball gets swung around the horn, that’s part of a bell play,” Mosley said ahead of the Magic’s preseason finale vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 on Friday night at Amway Center (Bally Sports Florida, FM 96.9 The Game).
The standstill 3s are the reward of better ball movement, which is started by getting into the paint more — something Mosley and the Magic focused on during training camp.
“We swing it from one side of the arc to the other and that guy gets a corner 3 knocked down, that’s the kind of 3s we are looking for,” Mosley said. “That means the ball is moving, guys are having their feet set and we have broken the defense down.”
Orlando’s 18.6 paint touches per game in 2021-22 were the league’s third-worst mark.
The lack of consistent rim pressure led to the Magic not only having one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams in the paint but limited their shot quality beyond the arc.
“The point of it is getting our feet in the paint first,” Mosley said. “We want to attack the rim. that’s the number one priority. What that does is collapse the defense. So now as they collapse I can swing it for my feet being set, knockdown 3. That’s the problem first is my feet in the paint and now it’s a spray-out, knockdown 3.”
The Magic have made improvements in creating rim pressure and better 3-point looks in their small preseason sample.
The next step is making them count — something they’re confident will happen as they get more of those easier looks.
“It’s hard to shoot 3s when you don’t put a lot of pressure on the rim,” Terrence Ross said. “This year, we’re kind of attacking the rim more which is helping us open up some of these shots.
“When you step in and make shots, it creates space. You make enough of them, the defense kind of gets aware this team can shoot 3s and it opens the floor. It plays off each other. The way we’re pick and popping and rolling and the way we’re creating pressure on the rim is allowing us to step into these shots with better rhythm.”
Cavaliers big Evan Mobley will make his preseason debut against the Magic. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen won’t play.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: Berkshire mont