Orlando Magic’s depth will be tested by Al-Farouq Aminu’s injury

The Orlando Magic will be without Al-Farouq Aminu for at least the next month, and maybe longer. The team will have to stretch its depth to cover him.

The Orlando Magic got some good injury news when Nikola Vucevic announced he was making progress on his return.

The way this season has gone so far, there was always another shoe to drop as the team’s injury luck from last year has clearly run out. Orlando will again have to scramble without a key player to its rotation.

The team announced Sunday an MRI revealed Al-Farouq Aminu had a torn right meniscus. He will be out indefinitely. The team is evaluating whether he can recover from the injury without surgery. Typical recovery time for this injury is 4-6 weeks, but that is not a hard and fast rule.

In either case, the Magic’s depth will get tested again with Al-Farouq Aminu out of the lineup for a significant period fo time.

Aminu has undoubtedly struggled to start the season. He is averaging a career-low 4.3 points per game on a career-worst 29.2 percent shooting. His effective field goal percentage has not even cleared 40 percent. Coming off the bench for the first time since his early years in the league, Aminu’s rebounding has dipped to 4.8 rebounds per game. That would be his worst mark since his second year in the league.

The shooting has especially become a problem though. Aminu has struggled to finish around the basket. He has hit on just 12 of his 35 shots within five feet of the basket (34.3 percent). Without his ability to make shots close to the basket, his entire offensive game has taken a nosedive.

But most of what Aminu does for the team is not captured statistically. While the team certainly could use a scoring burst from him — his 13-point, 13-rebound effort against the San Antonio Spurs stood out as a boost in the blowout win without Jonathan Isaac in the lineup — it is his defense that matters most.

Aminu has helped anchor the second unit’s defense. While that group does not score, they have typically defended well.

The Magic have a 100.0 defensive rating with Aminu on the floor. The only player with a better on-court mark is Mohamed Bamba.

While that may not speak entirely to Aminu’s individual defense, it is a sign of his defensive impact. Aminu may have struggled on the offensive end, but the Magic could rely on him for his defensive acumen, IQ and versatility.

Without him, the Magic’s depth will face a serious test. Especially at the forward position.

This too comes with the backdrop of Aaron Gordon‘s return from his own ankle injury. Aaron Gordon missed three games with a sprained right ankle before Friday’s game. He was clearly rusty in that game, scoring eight points on 2-for-11 shooting, but provided his own boost defensively to the team.

Gordon was supposed to be on a minutes restriction Friday, but he ended up playing 32 minutes. That was about his season average. At this point, it is safe to assume the team is working Gordon on nearly his full minutes in the rotation.

The Magic might need a lot more. The team will probably look to split Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon’s minutes more to cover the power forward position. The two have played 259 minutes together so far this season — 53.2 percent of Isaac’s minutes and 56.6 percent of Gordon’s minutes. They might spend more time apart.

That could have some benefits. Both are more natural big forwards. Playing separately with a small forward who can space the floor might benefit both. The Magic may not have the best spacing forward to pair with those two, but this could be an experiment in how they play separately and how best to use them.

Do not worry, the Magic will still get plenty of time with the two on the floor together.

Figuring out how to fill in the remaining minutes will be the tricky part. The Magic will have to go small.

Wesley Iwundu has proven to be the team’s utility knife player. Wesley Iwundu has stepped into the starting lineup for Aaron Gordon this year. He will again take on a big role as the backup forward with the bench units. Iwundu is still getting his rhythm as he returns to the rotation.

Orlando relies on Iwundu for much the same things the team relies on Aminu for. Iwundu is a good wing defender who can occasionally step out and hit 3-pointers.

For the Magic to work now, they will need Iwundu to be a solid 3-point shooter. During the team’s playoff run last year, Iwundu shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. He is shooting just 1 for 9 from beyond the arc this year.

Both Aminu and Iwundu’s struggles are hurting the team’s production of the bench. Even if that group’s defense has been really good overall.

When teams go big, the Magic will have to adjust too. They have Amile Jefferson, who has yet to play any really meaningful minutes this year. They could even turn to 2-way player B.J. Johnson (averaging 21.0 points per game on a 50.0 percent effective field goal percentage, including 40.5 percent from beyond the arc) to help fill in some minutes if the team is struggling to generate offense.

Orlando has some options.

But signing Aminu was as much about adding depth to ensure the team plays the same way and has multiple big, versatile defenders at all times. That might have been a focus for the playoffs and specific matchups after the way the bigger Toronto Raptors were able to knock out the Magic’s length advantage.

That will still be the case. The Magic are sitting in eighth in a crowded Eastern Conference race near the quarter mark of the season. Orlando will still hope to use Aminu as a solid defender during those critical games.

It has been a struggle to get there through nearly 20 games.

Orlando hoped to build enough depth to withstand these injuries. The injury bug has hit the team hard this early in the season. The Magic will likely demand more from Gordon now, sooner than they would want coming off his injury.

The team’s depth is going to get stretched again. New players will have to step up and fill in.

While Aminu’s statistical output has been muted this year. This will be a difficult player to replace.