Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has been forced to shake up his rotation after learning All-Star forward Paolo Banchero will be out indefinitely with a torn right oblique.
Mosley figures to rely on the team’s depth when the Magic continue their five-game road trip with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Dallas is looking to bounce back after falling to 3-2 with a 108-102 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Orlando struggled in its first game without Banchero on Friday, when the Magic lost 120-109 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Banchero, who was averaging 29 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists through the season’s first five games, suffered his injury in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks.
“It sucks,” Mosley said. “There’s no other way to put it. It sucks for him (considering) the way in which he started this year, the way in which he was playing, and carrying us in so many ways.
“In the same breath, you have to say it’s an opportunity for guys to step up, step into their role,” he added. “An opportunity for guys to continue to play to our standard of basketball.”
Jalen Suggs scored a career-best 28 points in Friday’s loss, while Franz Wagner had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Rookie Tristan da Silva tallied 17 points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench.
“The depth of this group is very important,” Mosley said. “Obviously losing Paolo in this way and that space, it changes it. So, there’s going to be a lot of different looks, different lineups and different rotations just being able to find the right combinations that work when they’re together.
“There’s still a style of basketball in which we need to continue to play, and that’s not going to change in that regard,” he added.
Orlando centers Goga Bitadze (left foot tendon strain) and Wendell Carter Jr (right knee tendinitis) both missed Friday’s game and are listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest.
Dallas opened its five-game homestand with a foul-plagued loss to Houston on Thursday. Luka Doncic scored 29 points for the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving added 28, and Klay Thompson had 12.
The Mavericks have fouled more than their opponent in each of their first five games, and the trend continued on Thursday with 27 personal fouls.
“I thought the referees were great. It’s us,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We gotta be better. We’re out here hacking. There’s smart fouls and there’s bad fouls and we have a ton of bad fouls. It’s all coachable. It’s all fixable. It’s not the referees. It’s us. We gotta be better.”
Kidd would also like to see Thompson start taking more shots per game. The veteran guard is in his first season with the Mavericks following 11 illustrious seasons with the Golden State Warriors.
“We’ve got to make sure that Klay’s involved,” Kidd said. “I think here of late, you look at Kyrie and Luka, their attempts have definitely gone up. Again, it’s just being conscious of who’s on the floor. And when Klay’s on the floor, being able to make sure that we use him the right way.”
–Field Level Media