featured-image

Magic Set to Arrive at Disney on Tuesday

ORLANDO - While the Orlando Magic’s players have spent the past month getting themselves back in shape, sharpening their skills and familiarizing themselves with their offensive and defensive sets, they have also had to dedicate a chunk of time to packing and planning for the longest road trip of their NBA careers.

While NBA players, coaches and staffers are quite familiar with packing for extended road trips, many have never before encountered the type of time away from home that they are about to face starting on Tuesday.

When the Magic head to the Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex as a squad today they will be sequestered from the outside world for a minimum of 38 days. That stay could increase another couple of weeks if the Magic hang onto their positioning in the Eastern Conference standings and reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

The Magic, who enter with a 30-35 record and in possession of the No. 8 seed in the East, will play three exhibition games and eight ``seeding games’’ before the playoffs begin in mid-August. The exhibition games – against the Clippers (July 22), Lakers (July 25) and Nuggets (July 27) – start following two-plus weeks of practice, while the conclusion to the regular season will run from July 31 (vs. the Nets, 2:30 p.m.) to August 13 (against the Pelicans, TBA) for the Magic.

For the two teams that make it all the way to the NBA Finals, they could be looking at a sequestered stay at Disney from July 7 to Oct. 13.
What, exactly, does one pack for a trip that will be at least 5 ½ weeks and one that could very well stretch past the two-month mark?

``I’m going to pack every piece of electronics that I own,’’ Magic shooting guard Terrence Ross joked. ``Probably, (he will pack) my Play Station, I just started a podcast so I’ll bring all of my podcast equipment and maybe do some sit-downs and talk to some guys since I’ll be the closest thing to a media outlet in the bubble. I don’t know, I might just do something like that to occupy myself that way.’’

The Magic and their brethren haven’t played since March 11 when the NBA abruptly suspended the season following the positive coronavirus tests of Utah Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Following a stretch of three-plus months off, players were allowed back into NBA facilities in early June under strict guidelines to protect their safety.

When the Magic get to the Disney campus, it will be the first time that they have practiced as a team since early March – something head coach Steve Clifford feels will be a unique challenge in trying to regain the chemistry, rhythm and flow that the squad had when the season was stopped. At the time of the stoppage, Orlando was one of the hottest teams in the NBA with a three-game winning streak and eight wins in a 12-game stretch.

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 and keep players, coaches, referees and staffers safe, basketball fans won’t be allowed onto the campus at Disney World. Of course, that means that players won’t be allowed to see or visit with spouses, girlfriends, children or other family members while sequestered away at Disney. For Magic players, that an especially cruel twist of fate considering that many of them live just a few miles away and won’t be able to receive visits from nearby family.

Evan Fournier is flying his wife and son back to his native France so that they can be with his parents while he’s away at Disney. D.J. Augustin is having several family members fly into Orlando so that they can help out his wife with their three children. Nikola Vucevic regularly flies family into Orlando when the Magic are about to depart on a long road trip so that he wife will have help while taking care of their young son.

Augustin, who has been trying to help out his wife after the death of her father three weeks ago, said he never considered not playing because of the inconvenience of being away from family members. The 11-year veteran and his family are plenty familiar with having to make sacrifices so that he can play at the highest level in the NBA.

``The hardest thing for me was having to leave my family for that time period, but I say it all the time to the media when we talk about trades, starting or coming off the bench – this is a business and I am a part of this business,’’ Augustin said. ``I know there was a lot that went into us coming back. But being able to keep the NBA going the way that it has been going, that’s a business (decision) and I have to support that. I know that it is important for us to finish this season and I also know that they will take all the steps to make sure that we’re safe inside this campus.’’

Like Ross and all of the electronic equipment that he is planning to bring along with him, Fournier said he has been racking his brain to try and come up ways to occupy his time when he isn’t practicing with the Magic. Players will have access to a lounge filled with games and music, while meals will be delivered to their rooms. Still, they have to try and find ways to fight the monotony of all of the down time between games.

Fournier is hoping to make the best of the time alone.

``One of the good parts of being in that bubble is that we’re going to have a lot of time for ourselves, so I’m going to really focus on myself,’’ said Fournier, who admitted that he greatly enjoyed his time off from basketball to spend time at home with his infant son. ``I’m going to read a lot, do a lot of my business stuff on my computer and mostly just focus on myself and do what I don’t have time to do. During the day, because I have a son now and I’m taking care of him all day, I’ve only had maybe two hours a day to focus on myself. So, now, I’ll call my friends and families, play a little bit of video games and just relax.’’

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.