Fournier plays despite sore hip
When Orlando Magic coach Scott Skiles arrived at work on Sunday, he thought a sore left hip would prevent Evan Fournier from playing against the Boston Celtics.
Skiles was happy to learn he was incorrect.
He received word that Fournier would be able to play just before the Magic conducted a walkthrough on their Amway Center practice court on Sunday afternoon.
Fournier suffered the injury with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Magic’s blowout win Friday night over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Fournier received the ball on the left wing, drove across the lane and suffered the injury when Giannis Antetokounmpo leaped into the air and kneed him in the left hip. Antetokounmpo received a foul on the play.
Fournier was unable to practice Saturday.
“It was really bad yesterday,” Fournier said before tipoff against Boston. “It got better overnight with treatment.”
Fournier played 20 minutes in the Magic’s 110-91 win over the Celtics. He scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
A small world
Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who grew up in an Indianapolis suburb, was only 6 years old when Skiles’ Plymouth High School team won the 1981-82 Indiana state basketball championship.
But Stevens was a Skiles fan anyway.
J. Kent Guild, an uncle of Stevens’ mother, was a family-practice physician who served as Plymouth High’s team doctor. All the cousins of Stevens’ mom were big fans of Skiles.
“We were paying attention to that Scott Skiles-led run and then obviously followed him through his time at Michigan State and his time in the NBA,” Stevens said. “I’m a basketball junkie. We played [Washington Wizards coach and Indianapolis native] Randy Wittman, who is a huge Indiana person, on Friday. We play Skiles today. Obviously, I grew up watching those guys and idolizing ’em as players.”
Still, the closest Skiles and Stevens ever came to crossing paths occurred during the NBA lockout in 2011.
On Nov. 19, 2011, with no practices or games to coach, Skiles attended a game at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to scout a pair of Louisville Cardinals players in their game against Stevens’ Butler Bulldogs.
3-point Vooch?
Through Saturday, in the first 272 games of his pro career, Nik Vucevic had attempted a grand total of 17 3-pointers.
That number eventually could rise significantly, following some more work on the practice court.
“It’s something that I feel like I can do,” Vucevic said. “I’ve just never really done it in the NBA. In college, I shot a lot of 3s. I’m capable of it. I’m working on it a little bit. So maybe I’ll surprise somebody very soon.”
Some context is necessary here.
When he was asked by a reporter if the Magic and Celtics share some common on-court similarities, Vucevic thoughtfully answered the question, noting that Boston likes to move the ball energetically and likes to play unselfishly. Within his answer, he noted a difference: that unlike himself, the Celtics’ big men, especially center Kelly Olynyk, like to shoot 3s. He said it with mock sadness, and so a reporter followed up and asked him if one day he would like to shoot more from beyond the arc.
In college, where the 3-point line is closer to the hoop, Vucevic went 37 for 122 from 3-point range.
Vucevic said he doesn’t plan to launch 3s anytime soon. He said he needs to feel comfortable with his long-range shooting and that his coach would have to give him the green light to do so.
A few minutes later, in a separate interview session, Skiles was asked whether he could envision Vucevic shooting 3s one day.
“I’ve seen him shoot 3s,” Skiles answered. “I wouldn’t have an issue with it as long as it’s, based on time and score, a good shot for us in a game, particularly from the corners.”