Striking Gold Once More

By Fawzan Amer

ORLANDO — From a bird's-eye view, most NBA offensive concepts look the same. Teams work toward the same shots from the same spaces on the floor, streamlined by the same idea of efficiency. There are some slight variations based on personnel, of course, but they are framed by what are accepted to be optimized ends. Except it isn't.

Every offense is its own ecosystem with its own way of life. Last season, the sudden shift in Orlando's play-callers, caused by Nate Tibbetts' departure and an injury to starting point guard Markelle Fultz, left clear voids. But it also created a few opportunities, one for their rookie Anthony Black and an increased burden on Jamahl Mosley to call some of the team's offense.

Black's integration into the Magic began immediately, as he was thrust into the starting lineup in his sixth career game, replacing Markelle Fultz. His averages of 4.6 points and 1.3 assists per game didn't appear befitting a future playmaking franchise savior. It's easy to forget sometimes — given the remarkable and near-instantaneous success players like Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, and LaMelo Ball have experienced in recent years — but being a young point guard in the NBA is hard.

There's so much to learn and process, especially when you're expected to be the one keeping everyone else organized, fed, and happy. Those who hit the ground running are the outliers, the exceptions that prove the rule, but the 20-year-old Texas native was adamant about transforming himself into such. Black spent nearly his entire offseason training in Orlando's practice facility, drawing praise from multiple players and staff members throughout preseason and training camp as a reflection of his hard work,

"The common theme over camp is how good Anthony Black has been, and he's been fantastic," head coach Jamahl Mosley said. "He's focused, he's worked his tail off, he's been in this gym all summer. Just working on using his voice, to be able to lead, control the court, and be a table-setter in these situations".

During Black's rookie season, he was limited to nearly non-existent usage within the playbook. This means Jamahl Mosley did less than the bare minimum in helping create pathways to encapsulate more extensive offensive success. Most of Black's scoring came from him having to fend for himself versus having his number called within set plays. This, it's fair to say, was not necessarily an ideal environment in which to develop. But Black kept working and has showcased signs of individual improvement as a scorer and facilitator during his sophomore preseason.

Anthony Black's comfortability and communication with the coaching staff have quickly become evident, especially during the team's preseason finale Friday night. With Cole Anthony not seeing minutes until later in the game, Black dominated touches. The addition of floor-spacing shooting threat Jett Howard also placed Black in a position to use all he'd learned over the offseason to show just how much he'd grown in the time and opportunities he'd received and what he'd grown into.

The previous three-pointer shown above looks normal enough, right? What Anthony Black does next isn't. As a lead guard, your information-processing ability triggers you to accumulate tiny, winning edges that don't appear on the stat sheet. Black did just that, revealing a glimpse of a superpower he'll look to possess more of throughout the season for Orlando's offense.

On the following offensive possession, Jamahl Mosley signals for Anthony Black to run one of the team's staple sets called "77" (Two consecutive ball screens set in transition or by bigs who run into the screen from an angle perpendicular to the ball-handler). As opposed to utilizing both screens, Black rejected the second one. He immediately picked up on a defensive miscommunication on the 76ers end, making them pay for it. The result: a wide-open Jett Howard. Same shot, same location.

Oftentimes, the right play isn't always the sexiest. When Anthony Black enters into his state of creative flow, his normally fast-moving brain slows down.

"Just vocally commanding the offense, getting everybody in the right spots, and making the right reads is what he does," said Black's lottery draft-mate Jett Howard. "He makes the right read almost 95 percent of the time. Every shot that I've been getting in the preseason has been from him. He's a great point guard."

Developmentally speaking, Black is enrolled in a more accelerated program. The Magic gave him the keys to the offense in the preseason because the only way a player with his instincts can grow is in the full crush of the job, with all that entails.

He’s maturing with every game. His assists, even when not recorded on the stat sheet, come from him recognizing the game and seeing the plays that are there in advance and not reacting. He’s not only manipulating defenses because he knows what to expect but also deciphering and altering plays from within the same play set to create a different outlook paired with an identical result. A made field goal.

Near the two-minute drill of the third quarter, Anthony Black himself calls for the same play as earlier "77". This time, the formation is identical but with a slight twist. Typically, the two bigs on the team operate as screeners. However, Cole Anthony is in the fold on this play set. Black, realizing the defense won't allow him to utilize the second screen on a wider defensive angle, parts the sea, finding his big man Goga Bitadze down the lane for what should have been a go-ahead assist.

Lessons from last season are starting to internalize. Professional habits are clicking into place. He has absolutely punished opponents this preseason with an evolved, uncompromising game. Smaller guards switching onto him don’t stand a chance. Bigs have to somehow account for the fact that he has gotten quicker and become more explosive with the ball in his hands. Dealing with a point guard who can puncture your coverage and spray passes all over the court is tough enough; covering one who can also get his own shot from anywhere can be downright impossible.

Once again, you see the same conceptual idea: the ball in the hands of number 0 and him reverting to what is working, the team's "77" play design. The previous times, Black had given the 76ers a different dosage of how to counter their coverages, all of which involved him passing the ball. This time, Anthony utilizes both ball screens to beat his defender to the cup with a right-handed finish off the glass.

This is the SubZero Effect — Black's ability to interact with the game to the point where his primary instinct isn't just to pass anymore. Every pass he throws is a chance for someone else to make a play. That style has not only fostered his own stardom through each preseason game but showcased the developmental successes throughout Orlando's roster as well.

The possibilities Black invented from one of the most basic plays in the Magic playbook were jarring and almost endless. Here he is again in the final quarter of regulation, spamming the same offensive button. Tristan Da Silva lines up as the screener, but this time, Bitadze rolls out, allowing himself to be free once Black attacks the rim to draw a pair of defenders for a wide-open dump-off flush home for two. The Philadelphia 76ers threw multiple different defensive variations to trip up Anthony Black to counter Orlando's "77" play design, only for him to create newfound offensive pathways to dismantle them.

The growth that Anthony Black has already shown—in less than a calendar year—is enough to raise the aspirations of the entire franchise. This front office has reaped the rewards of patience and "internal growth" already, and it seems they're on the pathway to striking gold once more. All that is left is to allow the sophomore guard to have the ability to fail in games that matter, as well as the structure and opportunity to grow.

All signs "point" to it happening...

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