Mo Bamba listened intently to the opening question of his post-shootaround media session Saturday morning.
When he heard the words “more playing time and more regular playing time,” Bamba couldn’t contain his excitement and a smile emerged.
He’s eager — and resolute — to put his game on display.
Bamba’s NBA career has been filled with tough breaks. He missed the final 30 games of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs because of a stress fracture in his left tibia.
Last season, Bamba contracted COVID-19 in June and never quite recovered when play resumed at Disney. He ended up leaving the NBA bubble early and missed the first round of the playoffs.
The effects of COVID lingered into this season and kept Bamba out of full contact work during much of the preseason. The condensed schedule and subsequent lack of practice time then limited his conditioning even more. Instead of catching up, Bamba fell further behind.
But Bamba has remained focused on working his way back into the playing rotation.
“I wouldn’t say it’s bad luck. I’d say life happens,” he said of his setbacks “You’ve just got to roll with the punches. Obviously, it set me back some, but I use that as motivation to continue to push and keep doing what I do.”
Following Thursday’s loss in Brooklyn, Magic coach Steve Clifford indicated Bamba will get a steadier run of minutes going forward. Clifford had been setting his second-unit rotations at center based on matchups, but it now appears Bamba has a clearer path to playing time.
“Mo needs the time because you can see, obviously his conditioning level, through no fault of his own, he still missed so much time that he needs to be out there,” Clifford said. “And that’s how we’re going to do it.”
Bamba played 13 minutes of Saturday’s 124-109 loss to the Jazz and delivered 11 points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. He made all three of his 3-point attempts — a part of his game that makes him so valuable.
Bamba also connected with Evan Fournier for a one-handed dunk off a lob pass from a pick-and-roll play.
While he isn’t at the same level of Khem Birch as a screener, Bamba is a bigger target in the roll game and he’s more of a perimeter threat. Defensively, Bamba tends to foul too much and needs to improve his decisiveness and positioning in pick-and-roll coverages. But he also offers potentially elite-level rim protection.
Overall, Bamba is averaging 4.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 9.3 minutes per game.
“It’s huge,” he said of getting more minutes. “This is what I’ve been asking for. This is what I’ve been working towards.”
Bamba said more minutes will help him sharpen his defensive rhythm, and part of that also will come with playing at a more comfortable weight.
Between the shutdown and the restart last season, Bamba added close to 28 pounds. He’s now playing at 242 pounds and said he’s in constant communication with the team’s strength and conditioning about any changes with his body.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I feel a lot more explosive. I feel a lot lighter on my feet. Overall, I think I’m at a pretty good weight.”
Bamba said communicating with Clifford played a big part in his commitment to being prepared for whenever his number was called.
“One thing about this league is anything can happen. You just need to stay ready, and I think that was the biggest part of keeping myself going,” he said.
Bamba and the Magic (13-21) will try to end a three-game losing streak Monday night when they face the Dallas Mavericks (16-16) at Amway Center. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
Dallas is coming off a 115-98 win Saturday in Brooklyn that ended the Nets’ eight-game win streak.
The victory improved Dallas to 7-2 over its past nine games, and its offense — led by All-Star guard Luka Doncic — has been a big reason for the surge. The Mavericks are averaging 118.2 points, 15.7 3-pointers and shooting 49.0% in the nine-game stretch. Before that, they were averaging 109.6 points, 12.1 3-pointers and shooting 45.6%.
Doncic is averaging 31.6 points while shooting 51.6% overall and 46.1% from behind the arc in the past nine games.
