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By John DentonOct. 3, 2014
ORLANDO -- Having never suffered a major knee injury in his basketball career, Channing Frye initially feared for the worst when his leg collided with Ben Gordon’s on Thursday and his knee was bent back awkwardly.
When a MRI showed no structural damage and the Orlando Magic training staff was able to aggressively treat the knee to limit the swelling, Frye was able to breathe a big sigh of relief on Friday.
Frye, Orlando’s prized free-agent acquisition in the offseason, suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Thursday’s practice. He was up and walking on the leg on Friday and wearing on a light sleeve over the knee.
Frye felt so good that he was planning to get in a weight-lifting session while his Magic teammates practiced. His return will be based largely on the knee’s response to treatment, but Frye said he is encouraged by there is no major damage to his knee.
``I’m a little disappointed, but at the same time it could have been way worse,’’ Frye said before Friday’s training camp practice. ``It could have really set me back longer, but thank God that it happened now of any time. So I guess it’s a best of the worst situation. I’m pretty happy with what’s going on and I’m pretty confident with this training staff and how they want to get me back healthy.’’
Upon colliding with Gordon on Thursday, Frye went down on the floor and his moans and pained facial expressions sent a shock wave through the team. Like Frye, many of the coaches and players feared the worst when they saw the 31-year-old forward clutching his knee. But there was relief later when it was revealed that Frye didn’t suffer major damage.
``You just look at a player’s expression on his face and you look to see any shock or timidity in his movement and I think we’re pretty fortunate,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``After practice he was evaluated with a MRI and it could be a lot worse.’’
With Frye down for the time being, Kyle O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson will likely see the bulk of the minutes at the power forward position during the preseason, which begins Tuesday night with an exhibition game in Miami. Orlando can also use Tobias Harris and rookie Aaron Gordon at power forward in some smaller, up-tempo lineups.
O’Quinn finished last season by playing some of the best basketball of his career over the final 19 games. Nicholson struggled throughout much of last season, but he’s worked hard this summer on regaining his confidence and form as a low-post scorer. Also, Harris added muscle and toned his body this offseason in hopes of becoming a stronger, more physical post player for the Magic.
``(Frye’s injury) lets you know what coach preached at the beginning of when we first got here that you’ve always got to be ready. You may not be in the game plan, but anything can happen because (injuries) are unpredictable. You hate to see anybody grab anything – shoulder, elbow, knee or anything – but God-willing he’ll have a speedy recovery and he’ll be right back with us.’’
O’Quinn said that his solid play as a starter – he averaged 9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.95 blocked shots over those 19 games – sparked his confidence and propelled him into having the best offseason of his career.
``It was good for my confidence and it let me go into the summer time knowing what I had to work on,’’ O’Quinn said. ``I had game experience to really base my workouts on. I didn’t just go through workouts trying to be ready for a season where I didn’t know what to expect. So those games (last season) really helped and I really appreciate Coach (Vaughn) giving me those minutes and those opportunities. It really helped me out and hopefully it will kick-start this next year.’’
Orlando heavily pursued Frye in the offseason, as did eight-to-10 other NBA franchises, because of the power forward’s ability to make 3-point shots and make his teammates better. According to several advanced metrics, Frye was one of the NBA’s most efficient power forwards last season.
Frye ranked 11th in the league in ESPN’s ``Real Plus/Minus’’ category, a statistical ranking that takes into account the production of the teammates around the player. Also, according to the ``Wins Above Replacement’’ statistic, Frye was ranked 14th in the NBA and sixth among all power forwards trailing only standouts Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and Serge Ibaka.
Frye missed the entire 2012-13 season because of a temporary virus in his heart, but he bounced back last season to play all 82 games. He is upset that he won’t get time on the floor to better learn how to play with guards Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton, center Nikola Vucevic and Harris, his first-cousin. But Frye said his veteran experience and time away from the game two seasons ago will help him in knowing how to stay involved with the team while on the sidelines.
``I’m pretty good at watching and I got pretty good at watching (two seasons ago during a heart condition). As long as I watch and see, I’ll be fine,’’ he predicted. ``They are still trying to learn the offense. But this is the offense that I have been running for seven years now. Even in Portland we ran a lot of this stuff. This is their chance to run it and get used to one another. Then, when I come out there it will make their life better. For me, I already know which way Vic and Elfrid like to go. I am missing that time, but it’s giving me time to assess how I can a better help to this team.’’
Frye had high praise for the Magic’s training staff for quickly diagnosing and treating his knee injury. He said the staff’s quick action helped him avoid having so much swelling and stiffness in his knee. While refusing to put a timetable on his return, Frye vowed that he would push to get back out on the court as soon as he’s pain free and fully confident that the knee is structurally sound. He also vowed not to do anything that will ruin the chances of him having a big impact on the Magic in his first season in Orlando.
``I don’t know the severity – I don’t ask those questions. I feel pretty good. It’s injured right now, but at the same time I just want to take it day by day,’’ Frye said. ``At this time of year, I don’t want anything nagging. I don’t want any excuses for the year. I want to come back where I’m as close to 100 percent as possible. For me, it’s a timetable if I feel great tomorrow I’ll try to do some more stuff. If it doesn’t feel good, I’ll take a day to get it right. I can’t come back until it’s right and they give me permission.’’
Frye said some of the pain in his knee was eased on Thursday night when his alma mater, the University of Arizona, upset No. 2-ranked Oregon in college football action. Frye and fellow Wildcat, Aaron Gordon, had a friendly bet with Luke Ridnour – an Oregon grad – and the reserve Magic point guard had to pay up Friday morning by wearing an Arizona jersey while reciting the Wildcats’ chat of, ``Bear Down.’’ Frye then made sure to post videos of Ridnour in the Arizona gear on his social media accounts.
``That’s what we do – we go in there and we shock the world,’’ Frye said. ``I knew it was going to happen, the rest of the people from U of A knew what was going to happen and the rest of the world just didn’t want to believe it.’’