In the eight games leading up to Saturday’s contest between the Magic and Timberwolves, second-year forward Tristan da Silva averaged 12.1 points on 52.4% shooting from 3-point range alongside 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal per night.

But in the eight games before his most recent stretch of success?

The German forward averaged half as many points on 31.3% shooting from beyond the arc with only 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and less than a full steal (0.9) per contest.

It’s a testament to da Silva’s daily work on and off the court as well as an example of ebbs and flows that occur throughout an 82-game regular season.

“It’s not easy to do to go from starting to off the bench to back to starting to back off the bench,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said about da Silva, who’s made 20 starts in his 56 appearances this season while filling in for injured teammates. “So, it says something about him as a professional. It says something about his work ethic and the coaches that work with him.

“It’s not easy to do,” Mosley added. “I know it looks like that because he comes in and shoots the heck out of the basketball, but the ability to do that and just play your part, whatever you’ve been given and tasked to do, he did that. And that’s what we need from our guys every night.”

The Magic will search for more of the same from da Silva when Orlando travels to Milwaukee on Sunday night for the second night of a back-to-back following the team’s lone trip of the season to Minnesota.

Kidd dishes on Shammgod

Speaking pre-game Thursday night about former Mavericks assistant coach God Shammgod, who Mosley brought to Orlando over the summer, Dallas coach Jason Kidd had high praise for the Magic assistant.

Before this season, Shammgod worked for the Mavs since 2016 as a player development coach while serving as the head of player culture. Mosley worked with Shammgod for much of that time when he served as an assistant under past Dallas coach Rick Carlisle (2014-21).

“Shamm has done an incredible job as a coach,” Kidd said. “I hope he gets the Providence (coaching) job, if he’s in the running. I’m campaigning for him, even if he’s not.

“He’s been around superstars,” Kidd added. “He understands what it takes to be successful.”

Shammgod played two seasons at Providence (1995-97) and later served as a player development coach there (2012-15). Providence recently informed men’s basketball coach Kim English that he will be fired after the season, ESPN reported.

Richardson proud of college-bound brother

Earlier Thursday, Jaxon Richardson, the younger brother of Magic rookie Jase Richardson, announced his commitment to the University of Alabama.

The No. 27 overall prospect in the country for the 2026 high school class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Jaxon Richardson is a 6-foot-6 forward in his senior year at Southeastern Prep Academy in Orlando.

The Magic guard, who spent one season at Michigan State before getting drafted at No. 25 last June by Orlando, is two years older than Jaxon, who chose between Alabama and Creighton.

Their father Jason Richardson played 13 years in the NBA, including two with the Magic (2010-12).

“Super special moment for him,” Jase Richardson told the Orlando Sentinel about Jaxon. “Your college decision’s always going to be a fun part of your life. I couldn’t be any prouder of him.

“He was talking to me every day about it,” Richardson added. “I really liked both schools for him because both schools are really capable of developing him and making him become a better man and player. But at the end of the day he felt like Alabama was the right fit for him. He called me and told me, and I was super proud of him and super excited.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic at Bucks

When: 8 p.m., Sunday, Fiserv Forum

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida