Mosley had said back in October in reponse to a question from Josh Robbins of The Athletic that having players regardless of label being able to initiate the pick and roll and make decisions with the ball was key to what he meant by positionless basketball. He confirmed that was part of why he was using the DHO offense, but also educated me by explaining that it also both allowed players to get downhill more easily and also allowed the opportunity to more clearly see what the defense was doing, while still limiting overdribbling.
After the questions, I walked towards the Magic baseline past Jalen Suggs (a bit more thickly built than I expected), saw Mo Bamba getting some work in (somehow still longer in person) as well as WCJ. After getting a bit to eat, on my way back I saw Markelle Fultz getting his work in before the game as well.
I went to my assigned spot in the media area and waited for my friend Terry Lee, who I'd finally met in person from Twitter last summer along with Jonathan Osborne at the White Buffalo draft lottery party, to get to the seats in the normal crowd where we could cheer and enjoy the game from (no way, as a UF Journalism graduate, would I ever cheer from press row).
From the top down view rather than TV, during the game I was struck by how big and skilled Franz Wagner is. I remember Dorian Finney-Smith at UF, and Franz seems and PLAYS multiple inches taller than him. I liked seeing Chuma Okeke get into the paint and score with confidence as well as continue to befuddle opponents with deflection defensively, and was thrilled to finally see Luka Doncic in person.
It both seems that with his size and skill (and the audacity to shoot from such distance off the dribble) that he is both endlessly dominant… but oddly should or could leave even more of an imprint on the game if he was solely focused on killing opponents (let's say he's a bit preoccupied with referees and isn't quite at his physical peak yet).
It's fun to enjoy a team that shows great resiliency and has young players developing and finding ways to contribute. Seeing Suggs dip his toes into unveiling the pull-up game he's been working on, or Cole struggling with his shot but finding ways to progress at running a team, WCJ just casually playing primarily the 4 on the fly after 3 years at another position and getting double the boards of any of his teammates, Franz popping both on and off the ball, his brother Moritz having moments where he was a real problem for the Mavericks to stop from scoring (and remembering he's from the same 1st round draft class of WCJ and Bamba) - all were a joy to watch.
To just be in a game that came down to the end alone made me happy because it meant the young players were getting important reps in crunch time. But to actually have Franz execute two end-of-game shots (made one, missed one) and then Suggs to literally steal the Mavericks best chance for another possession was exhilarating.
My favorite set of questions and answers after the game was with Wendell Carter, Jr. in talking to him about his comments to Coach Mosley and his teammates at halftime vs the Bulls just a week before and seeing him glad to be able to use the lessons he learned during a tough first 3 years in the league, and how this was what he'd hoped for when signing his extension.
