Gordon sits against Spurs
ANTONIO —
sat out the Orlando Magic’s game against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night because he failed one of the final stages of the NBA concussion protocol.
Gordon has been in the protocol since March 8 and missed his third consecutive game.
“It’s pretty frustrating, but it’s something that I can control,” Gordon said. “You’ve got this little card test that finishes the protocol. So I’ve got another chance at it tomorrow. But I always want to play. I always, always want to play. Too bad I can’t play tonight. We’ll see if I can play against Milwaukee tomorrow.”
On March 7, Gordon collided with the Los Angeles Lakers’ and team officials said he started to have concussion symptoms after the game, including on the team’s subsequent flight to Sacramento.
Gordon, who will be a restricted free agent in July, said he merely was suffering from a migraine, but his failure in the protocol’s card test, which measures memory, casts doubt on his assertion.
If Gordon did suffer a concussion, as team officials believe, it was the third concussion he has sustained over the last 23 months.
“You want to be safe,” Gordon said. “Better safe than sorry. I feel OK. But the protocol is the protocol for a reason.”
Gordon expects to take the test again today and hopes to be able to play when the Magic host the Bucks tonight at Amway Center. SAN
The game against the Spurs served as the first night of perhaps the Magic’s most difficult back-toback of the season.
Orlando tipped off against San Antonio at 8:40 Eastern and then was scheduled to fly home to Central Florida immediately after the game and lose an hour in the transition from Central to Eastern time.
On Wednesday, the Magic will host the young, energetic Bucks, led by one of the sport’s most irresistible forces,
The Magic have compiled an impressive 5-7 record on the second nights of back-to-backs this season.
After a narrow loss in Houston on Jan. 30, for example, the Magic blew out the Lakers on Jan. 31 at Amway Center.
The game against the Bucks will be a more difficult test because the Magic will have just gotten home from a tiring 10-day West Coast road trip in which they played in three different time zones.
“On paper, it’s daunting,” Magic coach said. “But we’ve done it before this year and won big. Now that wasn’t coming back from a West Coast trip, so it is definitely different. But we have some success in this situation we can draw from.”
Tuesday’s Magic-Spurs matchup featured an interesting scheduling quirk.
Referee worked as the crew chief.
Spooner also served as the crew chief on March 7, when one of the three referees accidentally started the game clock early on a Magic inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds to go.
The NBA Replay Center’s referees in Secaucus, N.J., also erred. Since no one had touched the ball before time expired, the Magic should’ve gotten another chance to inbound the ball.
Instead, a jump ball at center court was called, preventing the Magic from having a chance to attempt a game-winning shot.
The Spurs entered Tuesday 10th in the Western Conference standings, but something about them nonetheless remains the same.
Their defense once again ranks among the league’s best.
Through Monday, San Antonio had held opponents to their third-fewest points per possession in the league — a major achievement since
one of the league’s best defenders, has played in only nine games this season.
How have they remained so effective without Leonard?
“The system, and he’s not the only good defender they have on their team, either,” Vogel said.
“They’ve got great length when they play
and [ together. Their perimeter guys are exceptional defenders. They’re very well-coached and tied together. There’s a high standard of defense here [in San Antonio] combined with a lot of individual defensive talent.”