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Denton: Afflalo Misses Second Straight Game With Foot Injury

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton Jan. 13, 2014

DALLAS – Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo considers himself both a fast healer and a tough guy when it comes to dealing with injuries, so he’s not about to let a foot strain/sore ankle keep him out of action for an extended period of time.

Afflalo missed his second straight game on Monday night because of the injury, but he has every intention of working out on Tuesday and then playing on Wednesday when the Magic face the Chicago Bulls at Amway Center.

``I’ve been getting treatment every day and I feel good. I’ll work out (on Tuesday) and then see how I feel on Wednesday,’’ Afflalo said. ``Obviously I’ll have to go through some treatment and get the trainer’s opinion and it’ll be at coach (Jacque Vaughn’s) discretion, but I anticipate being ready Wednesday. But it will be up to them, of course.’’

Afflalo rolled his foot on Friday in Sacramento, and briefly stayed in the game before leaving for X-rays on his foot. Those proved negative, but the strain and pain along the outside of the foot kept him out of Saturday’s game in Denver and Monday in Dallas.

Afflalo, who is in the midst of a career year and is averaging career highs in almost every major offensive category, said he got treatment on his foot Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He shed his walking boot after Saturday and said he’s noticed major improvement in the foot and ankle.

``You can just feel it from the soreness of walking around in general. Once you start walking normal then it’s just about getting back comfortable on the court,’’ he said. ``At the end of the day I sprained my ankle and I do that all of the time. Sometimes I don’t even miss a game but this one was maybe more severe. I have a pretty good pain tolerance.’’

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Even though he is among the most emotional players on the team and admittedly volatile at times, Magic power forward Glen ``Big Baby’’ Davis fashions himself as a leader.

Davis knows that the eyes of Orlando’s many young players are often affixed onto him, watching how he reacts and responds to various situations. During struggles in the season, Davis said he tries to speak up more to Orlando’s young players and remind them not to skip steps along the way during the process.

``You have to understand that we’re trying to accomplish something here and sometimes the process is tough,’’ Davis said. ``You have to keep the faith and make sure that it never darkens.’’

Davis said he wants to be an example for teammates and lead by example rather than with hollow words. Davis had poor shooting nights on the first three games of the road trip in Los Angeles (three of nine), Portland (seven of 18) and Sacramento (four of 12). But he remained confident and bounced back in Denver with an eight-of-14 shooting performance for 20 points.

``I try to be hands on with each and every player and try to show them what we are trying to accomplish,’’ said Davis, who came into Monday’s game in Dallas averaging 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. ``There has to be an understanding that (the process is) every day and no short cuts. I’ve been a part of a team that wins and I understand that every little thing counts. I also try to tell them that it’s not going to rain every day and the sun will shine.’’