ORLANDO – On the night that Orlando Magic rookie point guard Isaiah Briscoe injured his right knee, he also suffered a concussion, distracting his focus from the pain and stiffness in his leg.
The effects of that concussion kept Briscoe out of action for two games and nearly a week, and that break from basketball helped soothe his aching knee. However, four games into his return, Briscoe began experiencing more pain in his right knee, knocking him out of action again.
On Monday, the Magic announced that Briscoe will need arthroscopic surgery to repair the small meniscus tear in his right knee. The procedure is scheduled for Wednesday and the point guard’s return will be dependent on how his knee responds to physical therapy. Orlando has 14 games remaining in the regular season, which concludes on April 10.
``I kind of figured something was going on with me, but I didn’t actually know because it actually started to get better,’’ Briscoe said recently. ``It’s more about the flexibility rather than the pain, but if I can barely move it and it’s stiff then I just can’t go. Obviously, from the MRI … (there’s damage in the knee).’’
The Magic, 31-37 and a game back of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, were off on Monday following a 105-97 loss in Memphis on Sunday. They will return to the practice floor on Tuesday prior to playing the Wizards (27-39) in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night. Orlando will be back at the Amway Center on Thursday when it hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jerian Grant, who started the season as the backup point guard, has moved back into that role of late and has played some of his best basketball of the season. Last week in Indiana, when starter D.J. Augustin missed most of the second half after rolling his right ankle, Grant came off the bench and contributed seven points, two assists, a steal and a block in a Magic victory. In Friday’s defeat of Dallas, Grant stepped in after Briscoe was ruled out and had Orlando’s best plus/minus ratio (a plus-13 in nearly 20 minutes) of the night. He gave the Magic six points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals off the bench. In Sunday’s loss in Memphis, Grant drilled three of his four 3-point shots and finished with nine points, five rebounds and a plus-14 ratio in 16 minutes.
Briscoe, who has missed the past two games while awaiting a surgery/rehab plan going forward, has averaged 3.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 14.3 minutes a night over 39 games. He was moved into the regular rotation as the primary backup to Augustin on Jan. 9 and since then he’s averaged 4.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 21 games – a stretch of games where the Magic went 12-9.
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