Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon has been cleared to play in Friday night's preseason game against the Boston Celtics after suffering a jaw contusion in Wednesday night's matchup. However, Mo Bamba is now slated to start at center in place of Nikola Vucevic, who is reportedly dealing with a mild left ankle sprain:
Aaron Gordon, who suffered a jaw contusion during Wednesday’s exhibition game in Atlanta, is OK and will play in tonight’s exhibition against the Celtics, Steve Clifford said. Mo Bamba will start at center in place of Nikola Vucevic (mild left ankle sprain).
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) October 11, 2019
Gordon appeared to clip Alex Len's shoulder with his jaw while trying to navigate around a screen. The injury didn't seem to be severe, but the Magic decided to hold him out of the second half of Wednesdays's game.
Gordon logged just eight minutes against the Hawks, scoring five points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field (1-of-2 from beyond the arc), two rebounds and one assist. Al-Farouq Aminu saw quite a bit of action in the second half.
Vucevic was not previously listed on the injury report, so news of his “mild left ankle sprain” comes as a bit of a surprise. Its severity is not clear, but the team will likely be cautious. The 28-year-old big man is coming off a great season with Orlando — one in which he averaged 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists. In June, he agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal to return to the team.
Friday night's Magic-Celtics exhibition is set to tip inside the Amway Center at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Follow Us
Subscribe