Back-to-back a 1st for Bamba
WASHINGTON — Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba might be playing in both games of a back-toback set for the first time this season.
Bamba played Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, then he will be re-evaluated after the game to determine whether he will play Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns in Orlando, coach Steve Clifford said.
The team decided to hold Bamba out of one game of a back-to-back set to help him manage soreness in the left leg he injured (stress fracture) last season. He sat out the team’s Nov. 2 game against the Denver Nuggets on a back-to-back with the Milwaukee Bucks, then was out for the team’s Nov. 6 game in Dallas after playing in Oklahoma City the previous night.
But with starting center Nikola Vucevic still out with an ankle injury, the Magic look like they could make an exception for Bamba, at least in regards to their current back-toback.
The Magic also have a road back-to-back coming up Dec. 17 and 18 at Utah and Denver.
Khem Birch has started in Vucevic’s absence with Bamba maintaining his backup role. Bamba has seen his playing time rise over the past five games, averaging 19.8 minutes a game in that stretch. He had been averaging closer to 13 minutes per game as he was under a minutes restriction.
Bamba has put together a solid stretch of games as he’s taken advantage of the increased playing time. Entering Tuesday night’s game, he was averaging 9.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 50% from the field and 58.3% from the 3-point line. Prior to that stretch, Bamba was averaging 3.8 points and 4.2 rebounds with a field-goal mark of 33.9%.
He said his improved and more aggressive play lately is tied in with his overall physical condition.
“I feel good,” he said. “I think those two correlate pretty well with each other. It’s just a matter of just doing diligence to my body and taking care of things.”