The Orlando Magic are waiting to get fully healthy again and may be inching closer. Nikola Vucevic is back on the court doing individual drills.
The Orlando Magic have waited all season to get fully healthy it seems. Injuries certainly derailed the team’s season.
And injuries piled on. It seemingly happened all at once. Players would come back and then leave again or another player would go out too. The Magic are still waiting to get everyone back. They may never get there. Not before the trade deadline.
But slowly, it looks like players are making their way back to the court. And, at some point, they may rejoin their teammates.
The latest video comes from Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel who showed Nikola Vucevic on the court shooting layups after the team’s practice Saturday:
Nikola Vucevic is making some progress as he works his way back from the hand fracture he suffered on Dec. 23. This video is from part of his individual workout here in Boston this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/eGUANEFAH7
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) January 20, 2018
It is not much, but it is definitely a positive sign for the Magic.
Vucevic is just out of his cast after fracturing the fifth metacarpal in his left hand. He is back on the Magic’s bench — and obviously traveling with the team. After Wednesday’s practice in Orlando, Vucevic was going through dribbling drills using both his right and his injured left hand.
Vucevic fractured his left hand during a December game against the Washington Wizards. The original timetable has him coming back sometime in February. It would appear he is still on that timetable. That could bring him back before the February 8 trade deadline, but that does not seem likely.
The Magic have taken their time bringing players back from injury. There is a little bit of extra caution.
That is especially with Jonathan Isaac.
The Magic’s rookie originally injured his ankle in November against the Denver Nuggets. He returned for three games in late December, but he re-aggravated the injury. The Magic decided to shut him down indefinitely and it is unclear when he will come back.
Jonathan Isaac is back on the court doing shooting drills and shooting free throws. But that does not mean he is close to a return either. Isaac is not running or cutting and shooting mostly set shots with a few jab steps mixed in.
The Magic are taking things slowly with Isaac right now, making sure his reported sprained ankle heals fully.
To his credit, he has remained positive. He called this season the best of his life even with all the injuries and tribulations in a sermon he gave at his church last week (that became viral for other reasons):
As for Terrence Ross?
He has been out since November 29 with a sprained MCL and a fracture in his tibial plateau. There was never any timeline given for his return and his return has been slow.
He recently was back on the bike and is not running yet. Of the three, Terrence Ross is probably the furthest away from playing it would appear.
Two-Minute Report absolves referees
Orlando Magic fans were surely interested to take a look at the NBA’s two-minute report following Thursday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Isaiah Thomas won the game after getting fouled by Shelvin Mack on a drive. He hit both free throws to put the Cavaliers up one.
The entire Orlando bench and most fans believed it was a jump ball. And even looking on replay, there was certainly a fair argument for it.
The NBA disagreed. It said in its two-minute report the officials made the right call, claiming Shelvin Mack made contact with Isaiah Thomas’ arm before he got into his shooting motion. The officials were right to grant the foul and the free throws.
It is a tough pill to swallow. But there it is.
Next: Mario Hezonja has found his niche
The Orlando Magic are back in action Sunday in Boston against the Boston Celtics.