Denton: Carter and Anderson Injury Update
By John Denton
November 8, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Magic power forward Ryan Anderson, whose shooting and scoring have been a pleasant surprise this season, is expected to miss at least a week after spraining his right ankle in Friday’s defeat of the Detroit Pistons.
Anderson limped off the floor in the third quarter and did not return in the game. A MRI on Saturday showed a sprained ligament and Anderson wore a walking boot to the Magic’s practice.
``It’s real swollen today,’’ Anderson said. ``I guess I sprained it in a good area if there’s a good place to sprain an ankle. I don’t know how long it is going to take (to heal). It depends on how long it takes my body to heal, but I’m going to do everything it takes to get back as soon as possible.’’
Brandon Bass, a key offseason addition for the Magic in free agency, will start at power forward today for the Magic against Oklahoma City. Bass has averaged 9.7 points a game on 57.4 percent shooting, but coach Stan Van Gundy has insisted that he improve his 3.3 rebounds a game.
Anderson, who was acquired as part of the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey, has filled in admirably for suspended forward Rashard Lewis. Anderson is third on the team in scoring at 15 points per game and he leads the Magic with 17 made 3-pointers.
``He’s in a boot and we have no timetable,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He’s not going to play (Sunday). I’d be shocked if he plays this week, to be honest.’’
Van Gundy hopes to get back Carter back today from a sprained ankle, but he isn’t counting on it. Van Gundy considered not practicing on Saturday because the Magic had just eight healthy bodies, but he felt the team needed the work defensively. Carter has missed the past two games after re-injuring his sore left ankle Tuesday in Detroit.
``He was shooting (Saturday in practice), but he didn’t do anything else,’’ Van Gundy said. ``I’m hopeful, but if it was a NFL injury report he’d probably be `doubtful.’ But on the coach’s report, he’s `hopeful.’’’
Van Gundy said he wants Carter to get the ankle fully healed so that the injury doesn’t linger for a matter of weeks. Also, he didn’t like that Carter was a shadow of himself when he played in Detroit and was unable to attack the rim.
``You don’t want it to be something that lingers for a long period of time,’’ Van Gundy said. ``I want him back when he can push off of it and attack. I greatly respect he gave us in Detroit, but he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t attacking and he was just a jump shooter. I want him to come back and play his normal game.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonNovember 8, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Magic power forward Ryan Anderson, whose shooting and scoring have been a pleasant surprise this season, is expected to miss at least a week after spraining his right ankle in Friday’s defeat of the Detroit Pistons.
Anderson limped off the floor in the third quarter and did not return in the game. A MRI on Saturday showed a sprained ligament and Anderson wore a walking boot to the Magic’s practice.
``It’s real swollen today,’’ Anderson said. ``I guess I sprained it in a good area if there’s a good place to sprain an ankle. I don’t know how long it is going to take (to heal). It depends on how long it takes my body to heal, but I’m going to do everything it takes to get back as soon as possible.’’
Brandon Bass, a key offseason addition for the Magic in free agency, will start at power forward today for the Magic against Oklahoma City. Bass has averaged 9.7 points a game on 57.4 percent shooting, but coach Stan Van Gundy has insisted that he improve his 3.3 rebounds a game.
Anderson, who was acquired as part of the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey, has filled in admirably for suspended forward Rashard Lewis. Anderson is third on the team in scoring at 15 points per game and he leads the Magic with 17 made 3-pointers.
``He’s in a boot and we have no timetable,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He’s not going to play (Sunday). I’d be shocked if he plays this week, to be honest.’’
Van Gundy hopes to get back Carter back today from a sprained ankle, but he isn’t counting on it. Van Gundy considered not practicing on Saturday because the Magic had just eight healthy bodies, but he felt the team needed the work defensively. Carter has missed the past two games after re-injuring his sore left ankle Tuesday in Detroit.
``He was shooting (Saturday in practice), but he didn’t do anything else,’’ Van Gundy said. ``I’m hopeful, but if it was a NFL injury report he’d probably be `doubtful.’ But on the coach’s report, he’s `hopeful.’’’
Van Gundy said he wants Carter to get the ankle fully healed so that the injury doesn’t linger for a matter of weeks. Also, he didn’t like that Carter was a shadow of himself when he played in Detroit and was unable to attack the rim.
``You don’t want it to be something that lingers for a long period of time,’’ Van Gundy said. ``I want him back when he can push off of it and attack. I greatly respect he gave us in Detroit, but he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t attacking and he was just a jump shooter. I want him to come back and play his normal game.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
