Bogans To Start Friday
Don't get your hopes up just yet. Bogans will not be starting because Brian Hill got a clue. Bogans will be starting because there is no other choice. Grant Hill will be out two to three weeks with a Grade 1 sprain of the medial collateral ligament of the right knee.
He sustained it in Wednesday night's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, but apparently did not inform the team or didn't believe it was serious at the time. But when he came to practice Thursday, Hill told the club his knee hurt and an MRI confirmed the sprain.
In addition, Keyon Dooling, out with a damaged thumb, said he expects to be out longer than originally thought. Dooling said Thursday it will be "another week."
What once looked like a break in the schedule just got a lot tougher. We should brace ourselves for some bumpy roads ahead. On a positive, all the injuries mean we'll actually have a true two guard starting in Bogans and another one in Redick backing him up. If Redick wants to play at all for the rest of the season, now is the time to show what he can do. Redick's role just got a lot larger.
Ariza Update
Magic forward Trevor Ariza said what the club had refused to say: He has a "two-degree tear" of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
"It's getting better. The swelling is almost gone, down to half a degree," Ariza said. "I don't think I'll be playing, though, until sometime after the all-star break (Feb. 15-20). It's bothering me that I can't get out there."
Ariza, injured Jan. 10 at Golden State when he slipped on a wet spot, said he was able to ride a stationary bike for the first time Thursday since he was hurt. The injury did not require surgery, but countless hours of rehab.
"This Sunday I get out of this brace," Ariza said, holding a huge,heavily constructed brace. "Then I go into a playing brace."
He said he would not wear a brace to play when he returns. "If I have to wear a brace, I won't play. That means it's not stable yet," he said.
The prognosis was originally for six to eight weeks. Ariza said he expects to be back sometime after the all-star break, perhaps to face his former Knicks team on Feb. 20 at Madison Square Garden.
More than likely, with practice time included, Ariza probably won't return until Feb. 25 against the Houston Rockets at home.
Magic General Manager Otis Smith said it was no coincidence that the Magic went into a slump with Ariza out. He gives the Magic a defensive, hustling presence and a magnet for offensive rebounds.
"That gives me a lot of confidence to hear that," Ariza said.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/
He sustained it in Wednesday night's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, but apparently did not inform the team or didn't believe it was serious at the time. But when he came to practice Thursday, Hill told the club his knee hurt and an MRI confirmed the sprain.
In addition, Keyon Dooling, out with a damaged thumb, said he expects to be out longer than originally thought. Dooling said Thursday it will be "another week."
What once looked like a break in the schedule just got a lot tougher. We should brace ourselves for some bumpy roads ahead. On a positive, all the injuries mean we'll actually have a true two guard starting in Bogans and another one in Redick backing him up. If Redick wants to play at all for the rest of the season, now is the time to show what he can do. Redick's role just got a lot larger.
Ariza Update
Magic forward Trevor Ariza said what the club had refused to say: He has a "two-degree tear" of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
"It's getting better. The swelling is almost gone, down to half a degree," Ariza said. "I don't think I'll be playing, though, until sometime after the all-star break (Feb. 15-20). It's bothering me that I can't get out there."
Ariza, injured Jan. 10 at Golden State when he slipped on a wet spot, said he was able to ride a stationary bike for the first time Thursday since he was hurt. The injury did not require surgery, but countless hours of rehab.
"This Sunday I get out of this brace," Ariza said, holding a huge,heavily constructed brace. "Then I go into a playing brace."
He said he would not wear a brace to play when he returns. "If I have to wear a brace, I won't play. That means it's not stable yet," he said.
The prognosis was originally for six to eight weeks. Ariza said he expects to be back sometime after the all-star break, perhaps to face his former Knicks team on Feb. 20 at Madison Square Garden.
More than likely, with practice time included, Ariza probably won't return until Feb. 25 against the Houston Rockets at home.
Magic General Manager Otis Smith said it was no coincidence that the Magic went into a slump with Ariza out. He gives the Magic a defensive, hustling presence and a magnet for offensive rebounds.
"That gives me a lot of confidence to hear that," Ariza said.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/
posted by OVERWADED @ 2:56 AM
8 Comments:
At 3:35 AM,
OVERWADED said…
This is one reason why I've been saying Grant Hill can't be in our future plans. He's already missed 7 games this season. This will be at least another 7. He's still one of our best players, but he's too old and to injury prone. In addition, he's only truly productive in the games where he's been able to get some rest the days before. If he's going to be around in the future, he needs to move the bench and take a new role.
I hope the Magic understand this, and that we have a huge hole at the 2 spot that needs to be filled now with a trade, or in the summer.
At least with the of the injuries we currently have, Bogans and Redick will finally get some consistent minutes. Maybe we'll see something we didn't know we had.
At 4:24 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
OVERWADED beat me to the scoop about the Grant Hill injury, so I'll post the Nets/Magic preview here.
The Magic (24-22, 15-9 home) will try to prove that their win over MIL was not a fluke, as NJ (22-24, 9-13 road) comes to ORL FRI night. NJ is 8-2 in their last 10 visits to ORL, and have beaten the Magic 4 times in a row overall. NJ is coming off a 113-89 home loss to DET WED. C Mikki Moore led NJ with 20 pts.
NJ will be without their number 2 and number 3 scorers, C Nenad Krstic (16.4 ppg) and F Richard Jefferson (16.1 ppg) due to injury. Krstic is out for the year, while Jefferson is out indefinitely. G/F Vince Carter leads NJ at 25 ppg on 45.7% FG shooting, and 7 rebs; PG Jason Kidd 14.9 ppg, 8.8 asts, and 8.2 rebs; and C Mikki Moore at 7.8 ppg, 5.2 rebs. NJ averages 97.8 ppg, while allowing 98.3 ppg. The Magic average 93.3 ppg, while allowing 92.4 ppg.
In their first meeting JAN 20th in NJ, the Nets came back in the second half to beat the Magic 101-94. J.J. Redick had a career-high 13 pts that game, and figures to see extended playing time due to the GHill injury. As was pointed out, KDooling will not be back for at least another week. Magic are 2 1/2 pt favorites (www.pinnaclesports.com).
At 4:44 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Before this latest injury to Grant, I was all for moving him to starting SF, but now I have to agree with OVERWADED, when Grant comes back he should have a role coming off the bench. He would play fewer minutes and save wear and tear on his body. I'd like to see Ariza start at SF when he comes back from his injury, and hopefuly Bogans can handle the starting SG position, or if Ariza isn't ready, start Dooling at SG and Bogans or Turkoglu at SF.
This will be a tremendous opportunity for J.J. Redick, along with Bogans, to show what they can do. Like OVERWADED said, maybe now we'll see something we didn't know we had.
I am not happy to see Grant go down, because he's still an effective player and he's been through enough injuries, but the Magic have been able to win this season without Grant in the lineup. Of course, during last season's great 16-6 finish, Grant didn't play either.
It appears that injuries are the only thing that will make BHill change the starting lineup and player rotation. It's up to the guys we have now to show what they can do.
At 8:46 AM,
Matt said…
This a gift sent from heaven for Hill. If the team picks up a few wins within the next couple of weeks he will claim credit for, and if it doesn't, he blames the injuries. Regardless, Grant's absence would be felt. He is the leader and the stabilizer of the team, something that we were hoping Jameer could claim, but he didn't, in my view, at least not yet.
At 11:58 AM,
Big Figure said…
Last year we won without grant,so that means the perimeter of keith and hedo is probably alittle better for dwight to be able to domintae the post,as much as we have all noticed grants impact on a game,he doesnt compliment dwight very well with his inability to spead the floor at any position.Tonight we will see the closest thing to last years starting five that had that great finishing kick,subbing keith for deshawn is the only difference in the five's and because they are so similar we should get the same results,wins.I expect dwight to bounce back and have great game,new jersey is gonna have to pick their poison,if you double dwight,jameer-keith and hedo can make the open shot,if you let dwight go one-on-one you'll probably get some sportcenter highlight dropsteps dunks and baby hook shots in the lane,either way if the magic win,i'll give the credit to injuries getting the right players on the floor,and the healthy players making the difference with defense and winning despite the coaching.
At 3:17 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Tonight's game is also going to be nationally televised on ESPN, only the second time the Magic have been on national TV this season, and first time from Orlando.
At 4:58 PM,
OVERWADED said…
Matt, you know Brian Hill too well. It's like we've heard all of his speeches and we know what he is going to say. I hate that guy!
BIG, I couldn't have said it better myself. Hopefully the Magic can surprise some people tonight. As Matt pointed out, if we lose, B Hill will have the injuries to blame. At least if we start winning, maybe it will open someone's eyes; doubtful that it'd be Brian Hills.
The fact that we've always been able to win without Grant Hill should say something. As BIG said, he's a good player, he just doesn't compliment the system we try and run most of the time.
I know I've been saying Hill should have a bench role all season, but maybe it wouldn't be that bad for him. He could come in the game with Arroyo and run-run-run.
Here's something for everyone to think about. Hedo struggled some last season, and didn't really take off until Grant Hill was done for the year. Hedo played a huge role in our finish last season. I said something about this really early this year... I don't think Hedo plays well with Grant. For whatever reason, like he feels he has to step down, be less aggressive, or maybe because they just don't compliment each other. But it appears to me that Hedo is a different player, and not for the better when he plays with Grant. I'm going to keep an eye on Hedo these next weeks. It'll be interesting to see if he "breaks out" all of the sudden with Grant out.
At 5:17 PM,
Matt said…
The points stated about Grant not complementing when in the line up with Hedo is valid. However, Grant's natural position is SF, and we should think of putting him together with a shooter in the SG position, end result of which could be the same as having an average shooter at SG with Hedo at SF, which was the case last year with Deshawn at SG. No matter what the case, I agree that Grant cannot play heavy minutes, especially because he knows one way to play; all out. However, I like Grant to be the go to guy in crucial moments of the game. Dwight cannot be that guy due to free throw woes, and Jameer is too small for driving to the basket when opponents know that is the only play that could be drawn.
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