The Magic will get some reinforcements in their backcourt when they host the Hawks on Wednesday, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports that guards Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be available for the game.
Fultz has yet to play at all this season due to a fractured toe that he suffered in September, right before training camps began. Anthony, meanwhile, has been dealing with a right internal oblique injury that has sidelined him since October 26. He has played just four games so far in 2022/23.
Fultz and Anthony were expected to play major roles in Orlando’s backcourt this season. In their absences, the team has leaned more heavily on Jalen Suggs at point guard, with R.J. Hampton also playing an increased role. Suggs and Hampton, along with rookie wing Caleb Houstan, are candidates to see their minutes cut back a little now that the Magic are getting healthier.
It will be a big year for Fultz, since the former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t have a fully guaranteed salary for the 2023/24 season. With just $2MM of his $17MM cap hit guaranteed for next season, he’ll be looking to stay healthy and secure a place in the Magic’s future plans. Injuries have limited Fultz to just 98 games since he arrived in Orlando in February 2019, and only 131 since he was drafted in 2017.
Anthony has a guaranteed contract for ’23/24, but it’s an important season for him too, since he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2023 offseason.
Thank whatever deity you believe in…the Magic need their backcourt back. When Gary Harris is their starting point guard, they cannot win for so many reasons.
What’s the over/under on games until Fultz gets hurt again? Some peoples bodies sadly just get never get healthy, and he seems to be one of them.
5…7 for Cole Anthony
When, if ever, is Jonathan Isaac coming back?
Isaac and Fultz aren’t even in the same stratosphere right now in terms of injuries, contrary to how some folks might portray their respective injury histories (not that Fultz has a clean one). And Fultz’s latest injury was a freak toe thing. Isaac is still rehabbing significant knee/hamstring issues. My guess is the Magic will ultimately release him and recoup the significant money owed to him otherwise, per the unique terms of his contract.
A shame because when healthy he’s a special talent, but I can’t imagine him being the same player after so much time away from the game. And, unfortunately, I also have to question whether his love for the game has been sapped as a result of the injuries and/or his off-the-court positions.
That may sound like conspiracy theory territory, but when you’ve spent an unprecedented amount of time away from the game from a single main injury and seemed rather enthusiastic about other endeavors outside of the game, in particular potentially lucrative politically-based activities, I think it does open the door for questions about his commitment to returning to the floor.
Once upon a time, I chalked up the long delay to the Magic being a tanking team. But at this point? I don’t think that’s anywhere near a certainty.
ORL has some gifted young players, but the rotational mess this roster mandates isn’t helpful to them or any of their teammates, or their fans or the league. However, it will help the FO achieve it’s primary objective, losing.
By “rotational mess”, do you mean injuries? Orlando had EIGHT players injured last night against Brooklyn, and it took 45 points from KD to beat them. This team is tenacious but has caught the injury bug in a bad way.
No, I meant that their roster wasn’t built to put a winning team on the court. That almost always means there won’t be much in the way of team or even individual player development as the season rolls on. Even the energy and tenacity of youth generally fades. Wait until around game 60 or so.
The Magic lead the NBA in cumulative games missed (10 players have missed a total of 117 games). The next most injured team is Miami, who have had 10 players miss 76 total games. I’m no math major, but the Magic have 41 more missed games than the next highest team. My source:
link to spotrac.com