Fournier back after long absence
On a night the Chicago Bulls welcomed back
after a long layoff, the Orlando Magic also had a key contributor return after an extended absence.
entered Wednesday night’s game against the Bulls at Amway Center with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter — his first game action since Feb. 25.
Fournier had missed 18 consecutive games after he had suffered an injury in his core that required consultations from specialists to ensure a proper diagnosis.
“That’s my job, and I just love it,” Fournier said before tipoff. “I just love to be on the court. I just love basketball. It’s hard to finish your season with an injury. It just gives you a bad taste in your mouth, so I’m glad to be back.”
Fournier suffered the injury Feb. 20 when he fell awkwardly to the court on a driving layup attempt. Although he played in games Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, the pain was severe enough that Fournier and team officials determined it was best for him to sit out and let the injury heal.
Fournier, a 6-foot-7 swingman in his third NBA season and first season with the Magic, entered Wednesday averaging 11.9 points per game and shooting 37.4 percent on his 3-point attempts.
He also played well on defense after took over as the Magic’s interim coach. From Feb. 5-25, the team allowed only 94.4 points per 100 possessions when Fournier was on the floor, according to the NBA’s statistics database. Although it’s a small sample size — a sample size that includes games against the awful Los Angeles Lakers and atrocious New York Knicks — Fournier had one of the better defensive-efficiency ratings on the Magic.
“He’s a competitive kid,” Borrego said. “He can guard multiple positions. He’s another ball-handler for us. He can play pick-and-roll, and he can shoot the 3 ball. He’s a rare combination in that he can get to the rim — his numbers say he gets to the rim — and he shoots 3s. That’s very valuable in today’s game.
“We’ve missed that. He spaces the floor when [ ] has the ball. Teams are afraid to leave Fournier. When he drives it, he makes good decisions.” Shooting guard
said Fournier’s absence had impacted the Magic “drastically.”
“He’s another shooter, another weapon we have,” Oladipo added. “He can put it on the floor. He can create for other people. And he was a double-digit scorer for us. We needed him, and it was tough to see him go down. But it’s always good to see people like that come back.”
The Magic were fortunate Fournier was able to return when he did. Backup combo guard
did not play Wednesday because he recently suffered a hyperextended right knee. Backup point guard did not play because his wife was expecting to give birth to their fourth child.
Fournier, 22, expects to spend a large portion of his offseason in Orlando working on his game before he returns to France to play for the French national team in EuroBasket 2015, the continent’s biennial championship tournament.
“I want to improve everything, to be honest: shooting, dribbling, passing, reading situations,” Fournier said. “You never stop getting better. I want to improve everything. I’m going to stay here for a long time this summer to work with the coaches.”
Special appearance
, and Vucevic are scheduled to sign autographs from 4:30-6 p.m. today at the Chase Bank branch at 608 N. Orlando Ave. in Winter Park. The event is free and open to the public. fourth quarter comes, and it’s like a whole new ballgame. You’ve got to step up and hit big shots because the ball’s going to find you.”
The ball found Oladipo late on Wednesday.
And when he had chance, he responded.
his