The Orlando Magic came into this season with very high expectations after making the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and trading for Desmond Bane this offseason, but things haven't exactly gone according to plan so far this season.
Even when things are going well, such as a 124-107 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, they still find a way to go wrong. Star forward Paolo Banchero went down with a groin injury in the second quarter and left the game after initially trying to play through it.
“I just slowed up, and I felt it right away,” Banchero said after the game, via Fred Katz of The Athletic. “And then, I did a couple more trips up and down, and then, it was still there. So I asked to come out because I didn’t wanna risk further injury.”
The Orlando star will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury and get a timetable for a possible return.
Despite the murky update, which will certainly leave a pit in the stomachs of all Magic fans for the next 12 hours or so, Banchero is encouraged that the injury may not be that serious.
“I dealt with an oblique (injury) last year, and that was a tear,” Banchero said, per Katz. “And feeling it, it was kinda really painful to where I couldn’t really do much. I couldn’t really move much. This, I can still do movements. There just was a pain there. (Trainers) said if it was torn or anything, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, that’s encouraging.”
Banchero had just four points on the night before leaving the game with the injury.
The Magic, who are already offensively challenged even after making the trade for Bane to add a perimeter scorer, cannot afford to lose Banchero for any extended period of time. This win got the Magic to 6-6 on the season, but it is still right in the middle of a crowded Eastern Conference Playoff race. Losing their star would be a major blow to their postseason hopes.
