In a two-game slate on Thursday night, the Orlando Magic will be taking on the Atlanta Hawks in a battle of two Eastern Conference teams looking to burst onto the upper-echelon of playoff-contending teams. The Magic will already be entering the night shorthanded, with Wendell Carter Jr. continuing to recover from his fractured third metacarpal. But in other areas of the roster, the Magic may have to make do without two of their rotation players as well in Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac.
It will be interesting to monitor both Fultz's and Isaac's status as we inch closer towards tip-off.
Markelle Fultz injury status vs. Hawks
Markelle Fultz, when healthy, has started for the Magic at point guard, owing to the strong manner with which he finished the 2022-23 season. Fultz has played in the Magic's first four games of the season, starting in every one of them, but he has proceeded to miss the Magic's next three games, elevating rookie point guard Anthony Black all the way from out of the rotation into the starting lineup.
But heading into their Thursday night battle against the Hawks, Fultz has a chance to suit up, as he's currently listed as “questionable” on the latest injury report the Magic submitted to the league. Fultz continues to nurse tendinitis on his knee, an injury that tends to linger if not given proper care and ample recovery time.
If Markelle Fultz fails to suit up against the Hawks, expect the Magic to continue rolling with Anthony Black as their starting PG, with Cole Anthony, who has scored in double figures in all of their seven games thus far, playing a prominent role off the bench.
Jonathan Isaac injury status vs. Hawks
Jonathan Isaac, after a tumultuous past three seasons, began the season healthy for the Magic. But since then, Isaac has taken two games off, one of them for rest and another due to a hamstring injury. Isaac was initially listed as “probable” to play against the Hawks, and has since been cleared to play. He'll backup Banchero and Goga Bitadze in the frontcourt with Carter out, providing Orlando with versatile, disruptive defense versus Atlanta's dynamic offensive attack.
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