The Orlando Magic’s player-availability scenario went from dangerous to worse for his or her highway matchup in opposition to the Brooklyn Nets.
Eight of the Magic’s 15 standard-roster gamers have been sidelined Monday at Barclays Center due to harm/sickness, leaving them with 9 obtainable gamers — seven signed to plain contracts and their two-way gamers (Kevon Harris and Admiral Schofield).
Player-availability points aren’t new for the Magic.
They’ve had at the least 5 gamers sidelined every recreation and had 113 total player games missed to injury/illness — the most in the league.
But what they skilled Monday was probably the most extreme their player-availability predicament has been.
“I haven’t seen anything like this,” coach Jamahl Mosley mentioned following the 133-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday within the first recreation of the back-to-back. “I really haven’t. There was the COVID[-19] hit, there was the injury [hit] — I haven’t seen much like this. It’s something different.”
Franz Wagner, Gary Harris, Caleb Houstan, Paolo Banchero and Bol Bol began. It was the primary begin for Houstan, the Magic’s second-round (No. 32 general) decide in June’s draft.
Schofield, Kevon Harris, R.J. Hampton and Moe Wagner rounded out the obtainable nine-man rotation.
Monday was the primary time the beginning unit performed collectively.
The up-and-down availability resulted within the Magic being one in all three groups, together with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers, who haven’t had a single five-man lineup play at the least 70 minutes collectively coming into Monday.
“It’s not an excuse,” Mosley mentioned. “Trying to find rotations [and] find guys you’re trying not to burn down on minutes because you’ve got a back-to-back, those are situations you have to continue to take into consideration as we go forward.”
Cole Anthony (torn proper inner indirect), Wendell Carter Jr. (strained proper plantar fascia pressure), Markelle Fultz (fractured left large toe), Jonathan Isaac (left knee harm restoration), Terrence Ross (sickness) and Jalen Suggs (proper ankle soreness) have been dominated out early Monday afternoon.
Mo Bamba (again spasms) and Chuma Okeke (left knee soreness) have been game-time selections earlier than being dominated out lower than an hour earlier than tipoff.
There’s optimism that Anthony and Fultz might be obtainable to play quickly.
The Magic’s subsequent recreation will come in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday at Amway Center.
Fultz was questionable to play Sunday however was dominated out pregame, with Mosley saying “we’re just going to give it a couple of more days” when requested about Fultz’s standing. Fultz, who has but to play this season after fracturing the toe late within the offseason, instructed the Orlando Sentinel on Nov. 9 that he hoped to return “within the next 3-4 weeks” — a time-frame of Wednesday-Dec. 7.
Anthony, who’s missed the final 16 video games, instructed the Sentinel Sunday that he anticipated to be again very quickly however didn’t disclose a date. A supply instructed the Sentinel earlier within the month that he hoped to return to play after Thanksgiving in late November/early December.
“When we do get healthy, there will be a rhythm to the game and understand some of the rotations,” Mosley mentioned. “With that being said, we’re still going to have to look at different combinations, and lineups. The message to our guys is when you step on that floor, it’s about competing [and] fighting.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com