ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said the team plans to keep rookie Jett Howard in the G League amid a growing number of injuries on the parent-club roster.
The Magic have been short-handed recently and were without six players due to injury or illness for Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had just 10 players available to play, although two others, including Howard, are on assignment in the G League.
Howard was assigned to the Osceola Magic on Dec. 28 and has remained with the team since. The team views the assignment as a good opportunity to log extended minutes despite the roster dealing with several injuries.
Mosley called it a good experience for Howard to be with Osceola.
The one thing that has been great for Jett and, obviously, we’ve relied on other bodies and different people, I think it is great for what Jett is doing right now: He is averaging 30-plus minutes. Regardless of our depth, it is going to be hard to match those minutes. He is getting 30 minutes down there and playing at a high level. The great part about the G is that it is so much faster, so you have to catch up to things faster.
Howard is averaging 20.3 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists and one steal on 36.9% shooting from 3-point range in nine games with Osceola. He has registered two 30-point games, including a career-high 34 points and seven 3-pointers on Nov. 22.
The 11th pick has been out of the rotation with Orlando after totaling 36 minutes across nine appearances. He logged 12.6 minutes in December and has yet to play more than 10 minutes in a game this season with several players ahead of him in the rotation.
The opportunity to log real game experience with Osceola has been very valuable for Howard. He can log extended minutes and work on elements of his game to be prepared to contribute.
“I think it has been benefiting him,” Mosley said. “He is getting a lot more comfortable being on the floor handling the ball and shooting the ball, and defensively, having to stay in front of a lot of those quick guards. I think that experience down there is benefiting him so much.”
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