Shoulder bothering Ibaka
LOS ANGELES — A sore right shoulder prevented power forward
from practicing with his Orlando Magic teammates Tuesday afternoon and might keep him out of action when the Magic play the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.
Ibaka hurt his shoulder when he attempted to block a layup attempt midway through the second quarter of the Magic’s loss Sunday night to the Los Angeles Lakers. Ibaka missed the ball, and his right hand hit the backboard as his momentum carried him over the baseline.
“I just tried to push myself to finish [the game],” Ibaka said Tuesday. “Then, after the game, it was very painful all night . . . . But now it’s a lot better.”
The Magic’s injury report lists Ibaka as “questionable” to play against the Clippers. Status quo Coach knows his team must play much better, especially on defense.
So will he attempt to give his team a jolt by altering the starting lineup against the Clippers?
“Probably not, but we’ll see,” Vogel answered. “I’m considering everything. But probably not right now.” Vucevic responded, “I didn’t have to. They all saw it by themselves. I was just sitting here proud.”
The Magic practiced at USC once during the 2014-15 season, and Vucevic always likes returning to the school.
“I spent three great years [here] — three years that helped me become who I am,” Vucevic said. “I improved a lot, obviously, as a basketball player. But I grew a lot as a person as well. I met some great people here. They helped me mature and learn a lot.” Magic point guard
also appears on one of the photos above the practice court even though he attended the University of Texas. Augustin and fellow Longhorn
are visible as former USC forward dunked the ball.
Three Magic players received a taste of Hollywood life Monday.
and attended the premiere of “Live By Night,” a movie directed by that also stars Affleck and
A photo of Hezonja, Payton and Wilcox posing on the red carpet with actor circulated over Twitter.
Payton decided to go to the premiere because his mom and dad are in town to watch him play, and he thought his parents would enjoy the spectacle.
“It was a good movie,” Payton said. “It was pretty long, but I didn’t think it was drawn-out. It had a couple of funny parts. I think it had a lot of subplots in it as well. Overall, I think it was solid.”
Wilcox used to play for the Clippers, so he has attended other premieres.
“It’s always good to go see what they go through when they have their movie premieres, and it’s also good to do it with teammates,” Wilcox said. “But it was cool. We got to meet Matt Damon and that was pretty cool. We got a picture with him, and he was a real cool guy. I think just the experience is what’s fun.”