The Orlando Magic have dealt with significant injuries, yet still sit tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They will have to continue without key players when they open a tough four-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero recently returned from a groin strain that cost him 10 games, and then leading scorer Franz Wagner went down with a high left ankle sprain on Dec. 7. Wagner is expected to miss two to four weeks.
The latest blow happened Saturday night in the NBA Cup semifinals when Jalen Suggs was injured. An MRI revealed a left hip contusion, meaning Suggs avoided a more serious injury, but he will sit out the Thursday matchup.
Banchero, Wagner and Suggs have played just six games and 97 minutes together this season.
“We’re down bodies, guys are in and out of lineups,” coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday. “We’ve got to make sure it’s always going to be the next-man-up mentality. These young guys have proven they can step into their moments and play. I think they will do exactly what is asked of them when their number is called.”
Wagner is averaging 22.7 points per game, Banchero is contributing 20.5 points and leads the team in rebounding at 7.9, while Suggs, fourth on Orlando in scoring at 15.4, tops the Magic with 4.8 assists per contest.
Orlando has relied on its depth to rise from an early-season funk. Six players are scoring in double figures, with Desmond Bane third at 19 ppg.
The Magic aren’t the only team dealing with injuries. Denver has been without starters Christian Braun (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) for a month, and neither will be available Thursday night.
Peyton Watson, who has started in place of Braun, sustained a right trunk injury in Denver’s overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Monday and missed all but six minutes. Watson is questionable for Thursday.
Despite the injuries and recent home struggles, the Nuggets are 19-6 and off to their best start in franchise history and sit second in the Western Conference. Denver could be putting pressure on Oklahoma City if not for a surprising four-game home losing streak that was snapped against the Rockets.
On a five-game overall winning streak, the Nuggets have thrived on the road — notching 11 straight wins — and benefitted from a deeper rotation. Last season the bench was a liability, but Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas have given coach David Adelman options.
“This is why they brought all of us in this summer, right?” Brown said after Denver beat Houston 128-125 in overtime. “For this exact situation. People go down. You never really have a season when everyone is just fully healthy for 82 games.”
It helps to have superstar Nikola Jokic and sharpshooter Jamal Murray playing at a high level. Jokic leads the team in scoring (29.4) and tops the NBA in rebounding (12.4) and assists (10.8).
Murray is averaging a career-high 24.9 points and is hitting a career-best 44.7% from behind the 3-point arc.
