Gordon sits with sore ankle
BROOKLYN — The Orlando Magic entered their road game Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets without power forward
Gordon tested his sore left ankle by jumping rope on the Barclays Center court about an hour before the national anthem.
The session than a minute. His ankle hurt too much. “Going out there [and] not being able to give my all to my team would be holding us back,” Gordon said before tipoff in the Magic’s locker room.
“We have guys that could step up, and they’ll hold it down. In the end, you’ve just got to be patient, got to be healthy and make sure I feel good when I’m out there.” With Gordon out, coach gave rookie
his first NBA regular-season start.
Gordon injured his left ankle late in the second quarter of the Magic’s win Wednesday night over the Miami Heat.
He caught a pass in the left corner and drove parallel to the baseline.
When Gordon elevated near the hoop, he collided with the Heat’s
and lasted stayed in less
The impact caused Gordon to lose his balance in the air, and he landed awkwardly on the toes of his left foot, which forced his left ankle to buckle slightly just before he tumbled to the court.
Gordon game.
In 34 total minutes, he scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, collected nine rebounds and distributed three assists.
But his ankle hurt throughout the second half.
“[I was] not aggressive,” Gordon said. “I was passive. I wasn’t running as fast as I could. Just adrenaline was carrying me through, and that’s not how I want to be all season. So I’ll just take tonight and see how I’m feeling [Saturday].”
The Magic will face the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Cleveland, and Gordon said he intends to test his ankle before that game. the Vogel reached out to Boston Celtics coach after Celtics swingman fractured his left ankle.
Stevens then spoke to Vogel to learn how the Indiana Pacers and handled George’s compound fracture in 2014. On Friday, Stevens told reporters in Philadelphia that Vogel recounted how George worked on his shooting form by shooting from a chair.
“Brad and I are friends, and we talk about everything all the time, really,” Vogel said Friday. “I was glad to share my experiences with Paul with Brad so he can just have an idea of what he’s getting into with Gordon.”
New York can be a tough place to play. Want proof? Consider what happened to the Magic prior to their gameday shootaround Friday morning.
It took their bus one hour to travel from their hotel in Lower Manhattan to the gym at the National Basketball Players Association’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
Vogel likes the facility, but he said the team won’t shoot around there again unless it stays in Midtown.
“It’s too far from the hotel,” Vogel said.
The traffic also impacted the Magic on their way to the Barclays Center.
The final bus from the hotel to the arena arrived around 6:15 p.m. The national anthem was scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
hasn’t just expanded his shooting range in recent years.
He’s ventured into the restaurant business, too.
And now he’s getting his teammates involved.
Two years ago, Vucevic invested in a new Orlando restaurant, Urbain 40 American Brasserie & Lounge.
On Monday night, just before the start of the season, Vucevic invited all his teammates over for a team dinner. Vucevic hoped spending time together off the court will help the team jell on the court.
“I think that guys liked it,” Vucevic said. “I hope they’ll go back. You know, make me some more money.”
Vucevic was talking tongue-in-cheek, of course.
So will his teammates get discounts in the future?
“It depends on what’s your contract like,” he deadpanned.