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Evan Fournier Dealing With Foot Pain, Misses Saturday's Game in Utah

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton
Jan. 14, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY – After missing five games from Dec. 23-Jan. 2 because of a bruised right heel, Evan Fournier returned for an Orlando Magic team in need of his scoring and playmaking.

But for anyone who watched Fournier since he came back 10 days ago, it’s quite apparent that he never fully returned. Hobbled by the problem again, Fournier is worried about when he will be able to return fully because the pain in his heel has branched out across his right foot.

``I was compensating a lot and now it’s more than the heel. It’s the bottom of the foot, period,’’ a dejected Fournier said prior to Saturday’s game in Utah – one in which he was held out of action. ``It’s frustrating, man. I could probably keep playing like this, but it’s not getting any better and I’m playing at like 60 percent.’’

Jodie Meeks, who started the five games that Fournier missed and a sixth when he was used as a reserve, was back in the starting lineup on Saturday. There is no firm timetable on Fournier’s return – something that he finds especially frustrating, especially when he’s being told to stay off the foot as much as possible. Fournier is going through a variety of treatments, ranging from icing, warm tub soaks, electric stimulation and massages, but he has no clue when his foot will feel good enough to play on again.

``Time is the best ally here,’’ said Fournier, who first suffered this injury two seasons ago and missed just one game. ``But in the NBA, you just don’t have much time until the next game comes.’’

In the five games since Fournier returned, he has averaged just 11.8 points while shooting 22 of 61 (36 percent) from the floor and five of 17 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range. Those numbers pale in comparison to Fournier’s season-long production – 17 ppg., 44.3 percent shooting and 35.8 percent accuracy from 3-point range – showing the effect that the heel injury has had on his mobility.

``It’s a concern because he took the five games off to try and put the injury behind him,’’ Magic coach Frank Vogel said. ``But clearly it’s not behind him with it resurfacing.’’

CONSUMATE PRO: Not wanting to do anything that might hurt his team, Magic center Nikola Vucevic moved into a reserve role back on Nov. 27 without much objection at all. Even though he knows he’s a starter-quality player, Vucevic filled his role off the bench nicely, averaging 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 28.2 minutes over the 20 games. The whole time, a somewhat irked Vucevic was eager to get his starting job back, promising himself that he would take advantage of the opportunity when it was presented to him.

The Magic’s longest-tenured player has done just that, scoring 16 points on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers and a season-best 30 in Friday’s defeat of Portland.

``It wasn’t easy for me to be on the bench and they all know how I felt about it, but I tried to stay strong the best I could in that difficult position,’’ Vucevic said after his 13-of-18 shooting night on Friday in Portland. ``I’m glad that I’m back now in the position where I feel the most comfortable and the position that I feel I deserve to be in. I just want to take advantage of it, play to the best of my ability and help this team win.’’

A.G. ON D: Having already shined defensively against the likes of James Harden and Carmelo Anthony, Magic forward Aaron Gordon added to his portfolio on Friday with more smothering play against Portland star guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

Orlando surprised Portland by opening the game with the 6-foot-9 Gordon checking Lillard – something that seemed to discombobulate the Blazers and play a role in the Magic’s 18-1 start in the first five minutes.

Throughout the game, Vogel used Gordon on both Lillard and McCollum defensively, and his strength and length gave both guards fits. One of Gordon’s best possessions of the night came at the end of the first quarter when Lillard gave him a series of fakes to no avail and drove hard to rim, where Gordon didn’t budge and forced an airball from the superstar.

On the surface, it would seem like Lillard (34 points) and McCollum (26 points) dominated the matchup against Gordon. However, when considering that Lillard shot just 12 of 27 overall and two of 11 from 3-point range, and McCollum connected on 10 of 21 tries, you see the effect that Gordon’s size had.

``He was terrific and he’s become a heck of a defensive weapon for us,’’ Vogel said of Gordon. ``He’s got great defensive versatility. And to guard two little guards like that – at his size – that’s not easy to do and he did a great job. So I’m very proud of him.’’

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