The Magic‘s 5-man lineup of guards Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris plus forwards Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero along with center Wendell Carter Jr. made its 15th start together Friday against the Hornets.
Of the different lineups used by coach Jamahl Mosley in his third year at the helm, this group in particular has been the most effective.
Unfortunately for Orlando, the Magic (45-32) got beat 124-115.
The lineup had entered Friday’s contest at Charlotte (19-58) with a 13-1 record in starts and a plus-11.5 net rating, which was the highest among Orlando‘s lineups that have played at least 100 minutes together this season.
The group’s 59.1% effective field goal percentage — a field-goal percentage formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2-pointers — also led Orlando’s most frequently used lineups.
Part of that has to do with the shooting of Harris, a veteran guard who helps spread the floor as a 36.8% 3-point specialist and went 4-of-8 on 3-pointers Friday.
By inserting Harris into the Magic’s regular starting lineup after the All-Star break, however, Mosley essentially removed a traditional point guard from the group.
Markelle Fultz, who opened the year as the starting point guard, has come off the bench for the Magic in 15 of the 16 games he’s played in following the league break. He started once when Harris sat out a game due to a right plantar fascia strain.
The shift in the lineup has resulted in Suggs handling the ball at times along with Banchero and Wagner, depending on the offensive play called by Mosley.
When Suggs initiates the offense, he’s likely bringing the ball down the court faster than the other two due to his speed and ability to make decisions quickly.
But he’s also learned how to slow down and read the floor once he’s across mid-court.
“Jalen does a great job,” Mosley said. “He gets the rebound; they look for him on the outlet. He looks to push it because of his pace [and] because of his speed. He also doing a great job of slowing down once he’s gotten down there.
“Being able to swing it and move it, you’re playing against closeouts because he’s able to break the defense down.”
Of Suggs’ 1,856 total minutes played this season, he’s played at point guard 62% of the time and shooting guard 37%, according to CleaningTheGlass.com, an advanced NBA stats site that excludes “garbage time” of games from its calculations.
It’s the most Suggs has played at point guard in his career and it’s worked well for Orlando. The team’s point differential is plus-4.8 with Suggs at point guard (which is generally when Harris starts) but minus-3.8 with Suggs at shooting guard, according to CleaningTheGlass.
“He does everything and he’s going to compete while he does it,” Harris said about Suggs. “Jalen’s a student of the game and he continues to learn and continues to get better.
“It’s just a testament to who he is as a person, just continuing to constantly get better, improve and just try to be a service to this team.”
Searching to solidify their spot inside the East’s top 6, the Magic return to Kia Center when they host the Bulls on Sunday (Bally Sports Florida, 6).
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
