The Magic have lost eight straight.
And that was with Nikola Vucevic.
Now, Orlando – which also has opening-night starters Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross plus first-round pick Jonathan Isaac sidelined – will be without Vucevic.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:
Sources: Orlando center Nikola Vucevic is expected to undergo surgery on his fractured left hand and be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks. Vucevic is averaging 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds this season for Magic.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2017
Vucevic has quietly been having a very nice season. He possesses a diverse offensive skill set matched by few centers. There are reasons the Magic score a ghastly 93.6 points per 100 possessions without him.
Bismack Biyombo is in line for a bigger role, and Marreese Speights could crack the rotation. Biyombo should help defensively, though he’s a minus offensively. Speights could be a negative period if he doesn’t balance his outside shooting with at least decent finishing inside, because he’s not much of a defender.
Getting other players healthy could help, but Orlando (11-22) appears to be freefalling. This wasn’t a great roster at full strength. It’s sure not one now.
That’s good news for the franchise, which will likely land another high lottery pick. It’s bad news for coach Frank Vogel, who – fairly or not – is getting associated with all this losing.
