Payton still feels discomfort
PHOENIX — Following the Orlando Magic’s shootaround Friday morning at Talking Stick Resort Arena, a Magic athletic trainer filled a plastic bag with ice and affixed the ice bag to the back of
left leg. Expect scenes like that to continue for awhile.
Payton’s left hamstring still bothers him.
Payton still started for the Magic against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, his second game back following an eight-game absence due to a strain in his hamstring. “It’s still a concern,” coach
said after the shootaround.
It’s enough of a concern that, after consulting with the Magic’s athletic-training staff, Vogel intended to limit Payton to about 25 minutes against the Suns. and passed up
who was picked 11th by the Indiana Pacers, and passed up Booker, who was selected 13th.
As Hezonja has struggled to carve out his niche in Orlando, Booker entered Friday leading the Suns in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game.
On Friday, Booker acknowledged that he still has a chip on his shoulder about slipping to No. 13 — a chip against all teams that passed on him.
“I thought I was going eight or nine,” Booker said.
The Detroit Pistons selected at No. 8, which hurt Booker because he spent most of his youth in Michigan. The Charlotte Hornets chose
at No. 9. The Miami Heat settled on
at No. 10. “I know the whole draft,” Booker said. “Our whole draft class was really competitive. We went all through grass roots against each other, so being drafted high was a thing. But now I realize you want to be drafted to the right situation, and I’m happy where I’m at.”
Taking a cross-country flight and playing a game the next day always is a challenge.
The Magic flew about four hours to travel from Orlando to Phoenix and also had to deal with a two-hour time difference.
But Vogel doesn’t worry about the impact of those long flights, partly because he can’t do anything about it.
“I trust that they’re going to get here and get their rest and be ready to play [the next] night,” Vogel said. Suns center
missed his second game in a row because of back spasms.
But Chandler’s absence wasn’t necessarily good news for the Magic.
who started in Chandler’s place, often has played well against Orlando.
On March 4, 2016, Len scored a career-high 31 points, collected 15 rebounds and blocked two shots as he led the Suns to a 102-84 win at Amway Center.
He entered Friday averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in seven prior games against the Magic. This West Coast swing is homecoming trip.
Raised in San Jose, Gordon always looks forward to playing the Warriors in Oakland. The Magic play the Warriors on Monday.
But Gordon also has ties to the Grand Canyon State.
He played one year of college basketball at the University of Arizona, about a 115-mile drive from Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“There’s a lot of U of A fans that’ll be here,” Gordon said, a smile on his face. “They travel real well.”
In conjunction with Veterans Day today, the NBA highlighted the military service of three of its current referees: and
Boland worked the Magic-Suns game Friday