Jamahl Mosley shares brief update on Wendell Carter Jr.’s ankle injury 

Having a deep roster has its perks. For one, there is always someone ready to step up if another player suffers an injury. The Orlando Magic learned that the hard way. Last season, the team was largely healthy, but Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr., and Jalen Suggs have all dealt with various injuries throughout their careers. 

All three are major parts of the Magic’s success—two of them are starters—and the team needs to be prepared to survive games without them. Having a star like Paolo Banchero, who has only missed 12 games over his two seasons in the league, certainly helps. 

So does having bench players who can step into bigger roles. Goga Bitadze was the best example of that last season. The Magic’s third center stayed ready and successfully started 33 games in Wendell Carter Jr.’s absence. Thus, seeing him play well in the starting lineup in the Magic’s second preseason game was not a shock. 

Unfortunately, it took only one preseason game for the Magic to see their first injury of the new season. Wendell Carter Jr. hurt his ankle in the Magic’s preseason opener against the New Orleans Pelicans and is now working his way back from that. 

The biggest issue with this injury is that the Magic are missing valuable chances to create chemistry in the starting lineup. Even though the Magic brought back much of last season’s roster, it was evident early in preseason that the team still needed some time to find its rhythm again. The starting lineup will be different with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope coming over from the Denver Nuggets and Carter Jr.’s injury means the starters got few chances to play together before the start of the regular season. 

Goga Bitadze is more than capable of filling in for Carter Jr., but he is also a very different player. He is more of a traditional center and a big presence in the paint, while Carter Jr. can also play on the perimeter and space the floor some. 

Jamahl Mosley shared an update on Carter Jr.’s injury after practice

After practice on Monday, reporters asked for a status update on Wendell Carter Jr.

“He’s doing good. He was able to walk through a couple more things on the floor, but we’re going to continue to monitor and make sure he keeps responding the right way to all the treatment that we’re giving him,” Mosley said in response. 

While Mosley did not offer much information, it seems Carter Jr. is progressing well and will hopefully be ready to get back on the court soon. The Magic will need him. 

The top of the Eastern Conference will be incredibly close this season, and the Magic will have little room for error. Last season, Carter Jr. was not the same after injuring his hand, and one could argue that it kept the Magic from reaching their full potential. Plus, the Magic just gave Carter Jr. a new contract. He needs to be healthy to live up to it.