Spending holiday away is tough
MINNEAPOLIS — Orlando Magic players and coaches will tell you they feel fortunate to make their living in basketball.
But even they felt a bit sad having to spend Thanksgiving away from family. The Magic just started a four-game road trip and couldn’t return home between their loss Wednesday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves and their game tonight against the Boston Celtics. “It’s not fun,” said coach
who is married and has two daughters. “It’s not something I’m excited about. We’ve just got to make the best of it and understand that with this job there’s going to be things like that.”
The Magic haven’t spent a Thanksgiving away from home since the 2014-15 season. But that season, they played a home game on Wednesday night, spent part of Thanksgiving in Orlando and then flew to Indianapolis that afternoon for a road game Friday.
doesn’t like being away from home on a major holiday, but he’s accustomed to being away from family.
“It’s hard, but it’s been like that for a long time,” Gordon said. “Growing up, my brother was a highly touted basketball player, so he wasn’t home [often]. It’s been a long time since my whole family has been together. Now he’s overseas, so my parents are going to go over to Russia to see him. My dad’s going to come out and see me [on Christmas]. It’s definitely not easy. I’m such a family guy, and I love my family so much. But it’s part of the job. We’ll all reconvene at some point.”
After their game against the Timberwolves, the Magic spent the night in Minneapolis to give players extra sleep. The team was scheduled to fly to Boston on Thanksgiving morning and then have dinner together at the team hotel early in the afternoon.
“We all plan to be together and watch some football eating turkey and mashed potatoes and enjoying each other’s company,” Vogel said. “We do have an extended family here with our group. I love these guys and I’ll make the best of that.”
Vogel intended to use technology to celebrate the holiday with his wife and children.
“FaceTime will be used at a high level,” he said.
Magic employees and volunteers served a Thanksgiving meal to about 700 people Thursday morning at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.
It was the 25th year the Magic have helped at the Coalition on Thanksgiving.
Players often participate in the event, but the team’s four-game road trip prevented them from attending this year.
Vogel paid for the meal at a cost of $2,500, a team official said.
The Celtics’ 16-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a loss to the Miami Heat, but the Magic know they face a big challenge tonight at TD Garden.
The Magic hoped their strong fourth quarter against the Timberwolves will carry over to their game against the Celtics.
“We’re going to play with a lot of urgency,” Gordon said. “We’re going to play with a will to win and come out with a ‘W.’ ”