Tristan da Silva was feeling the effects of a shoulder injury long before he sat out during the team's four-game West Coast road trip. Fans could see his right shoulder heavily wrapped when he was on the bench, leading to some suggestions that something was up.
If that was not enough of a clue, his play leading into his absence was plenty clue.
The usually sure-shooting da Silva was missing shots at an alarming rate. His offensive role is mostly limited to his 3-point shooting. He is meant to be a floor spacer. And the Magic needed him to make shots.
The discomfort -- what was labeled a right shoulder contusion -- finally was enough that da Silva felt he needed to sit. The hope now is that some time off will help da Silva find his groove again.
He is set to return Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.
"I feel good," da Silva said after shootaround on Friday. "I gave my shoulder a little bit to calm down. It's something I've been dealing with for a little bit. I'm glad I finally took the time to settle it back down and get me recentered with myself. I feel good, and I'm excited."
Da Silva is officially listed as PROBABLE to play with the right shoulder contusion that caused him to miss the four-game West Coast road trip. Coach Jamahl Mosley said he expects Tristan da Silva to be able to play Friday against the Hornets.
That is welcome news for a team that has been hit with injuries and for a player who has clearly been struggling with the injury.
Da Silva's downturn
The numbers are quite clear with Tristan da Silva. He has essentially had two different seasons.
He is averaging 9.7 points per game and shooting 36.5 percent on 4.4 attempts per game. Those are all improvements over his at times up-and-down rookie season.
Da Silva started the season off on fire with 12.2 points per game, shooting 41.5 percent from three in the team's first 16 games. Da Silva was one of the team's most reliable shooters and a reason the Magic found their footing and climbed the offensive ratings.
But since Nov. 22, da Silva is averaging just 5.7 points per game and shooting 24.2 percent from three on 3.3 attempts per game. It was quite a sudden and frustrating downturn.
An injury to his shooting shoulder would certainly explain some of those struggles.
"If you have something that is constantly bothering you and your essential movements in basketball, it distracts you from being in the moment and being present while playing," da Silva said after shootaround Friday. "You think about it all the time and try to avoid it and avoid the pain. I was still able to play through it for an amount of time, but I felt less concentrated and less effective out there."
Da Silva said the shoulder was bothering him for a while, and he was trying to push through it. It began to affect his play. That is when the decision came to sit him.
Coach Jamahl Mosley said the aggression Tristan da Silva was playing with prior to his shoulder bothering him was key to the team's success. They need to get him to that confidence again quickly.
The hope is that some rest will help da Silva reset himself. And that this strategy works throughout the roster.
Injury updates all around
Tristan da Silva's return is a welcome sign with all the injuries the Orlando Magic have faced. They are hoping to see more players return from injury over the course of the next few weeks.
The Orlando Magic get to spend some time at home -- the team has a back-to-back Friday against the Charlotte Hornets and Saturday against the Denver Nuggets -- before hitting the road for another three-game road trip next week.
The Magic know time at home where they have the full complement of resources inside the AdventHealth Training Center is important to getting players back up and running.
"For anybody, the days in between games, and we can get some guys rest, it's important," Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Friday. "But obviously, having bodies is the other high priority. We want to make sure we are as healthy as we can be as the season goes on."
While da Silva is slated to return, many other players still seem to need some time.
Goga Bitadze went through an individual workout after shootaround to test out his knee. He will be reevaluated before Friday's game against the Charlotte Hornets to see if he can play.
Meanwhile, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner have started doing some spot shooting. But neither player is doing contact yet.
That suggests that Suggs is a little further away than his upgraded status to DOUBTFUL for his left hip contusion suffered two weeks ago would suggest.
Wagner is not likely to hit his return window for at least another week. But Mosley described his recovery as a "slow progression" as Wagner is still avoiding putting pressure on his foot.
Jamahl Mosley also said Moe Wagner's next step in his return from a torn ACL suffered one year ago is to play two-on-two or three-on-three with contact. Wagner has made significant progress, even doing on-court work before the NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas. But he still seems to have some time before he returns to the court.
There is no timetable for his return.
Orlando is tantalizingly close to being whole again. But it still seems some ways away.
The Magic need some time at home to recover. Several of their players needed rest to let these little injuries heal, and some major ones to get better. That time appears to be coming soon.
It just takes some time.
Orlando wanted to take some time to let someone like da Silva get healthy. The team will see if he and the rest of the players can bounce back.