ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic suffered a blow on Friday when an MRI revealed a small meniscus tear in reserve point guard Isaiah Briscoe’s right knee.
Briscoe, a rookie who brought steadiness to the Magic’s reserves after being inserted into the regular rotation back on Jan. 9, missed Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Treatment options, such as surgery or rehabilitation, are still be evaluated and there is no firm timetable on his return. The rookie point guard has averaged 3.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 14.3 minutes a night over 39 games.
Briscoe said he originally injured the knee on Feb. 22 against the Chicago Bulls – a game that he also suffered a concussion that kept him out of two games. He played the past four games with the lingering pain in his knee.
``That’s when it started bothering me,’’ Briscoe said referring to the Chicago game. ``It was feeling all right, started to get better, but then as of recently I felt it getting worse than it was when it first happened. I told the medical staff and went and got an MRI and that was that.’’
As for whether he will have surgery – which will likely knock him out of action at least three weeks – Briscoe said, ``I’ll have to see what the doctor says. I still haven’t met with the doctor. He’ll evaluate me and we’ll take it from there. I’ll have to evaluate the long-term possibilities.’’
The loss of Briscoe means the Magic will turn once again to Jerian Grant as the primary backup behind veteran starter D.J. Augustin. Grant, who the Magic acquired in an offseason trade with the Chicago Bulls, has been in and out of the regular rotation this season because of uneven play. He has averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 16.5 minutes over 51 games. Grant played well last week in Indiana when Augustin sprained his right ankle, giving the Magic seven points, two assists, one steal and one block in 12 minutes in an Orlando victory.
``For me, it’s just always been about staying ready,’’ Grant said. ``Whether I was in or out (of the rotation), it’s been about doing the extra stuff to stay ready.’’
Briscoe played one of his best games of the season last week in Orlando’s defeat of the Golden State Warriors. In addition to grabbing a career-best nine rebounds, he scored eight points and had a role in two-time MVP Stephen Curry missing 21 shots – the most of his career in a game.
``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. ``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).’’
STUDIOUS ROOKIE: Long the curious type who has thirst for knowledge, Magic rookie center Mo Bamba has embraced the new role given to him by head coach Steve Clifford as he rehabilitates his injured left leg.
Back with the team after receiving an injection last month to help with the healing of the stress fracture in his left tibia, Bamba is working on better learning the NBA game by charting plays and talking with coaches after every game. For now, there is no timetable for the 7-footer’s return to basketball action, but the Magic and Clifford want to keep Bamba engaged in the game and growing mentally so they are having him keep detailed charts during all games.
``Some of it is positionally, some of it is with the other team’s center, some of it is the big guys’ (play) offensively and some of it is just general impressions on the game – what we did as a team, what we did well and what we didn’t do well,’’ Magic coach Steve Clifford said of the work Bamba is doing. ``He’s been really good (charting), to be honest with you. He’s done a good job with it and he’s using it the right way. It’s allowing him to build a booklet where he can continually gain information about the guys he’s going to play against in future years.’’
Bamba, the No. 6 pick in last June’s NBA Draft, hasn’t played since Jan. 31. He was withheld from a game on Feb. 2 when he felt pain in his lower leg prior to tipoff, and after tests showed the stress fracture in the tibia, he received a paste injection a week later that should help with his recovery. Bamba, who averaged 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-best 1.36 blocks in 47 games, is still wearing a walking boot and is with the team for home and road games.
Clifford, formerly the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, used a similar plan with forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in 2015-16 after the small forward injured his shoulder early in the season.
DIRK’S DECISION: Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA’s second-oldest player, has yet to officially decide if he will retire or continue playing following, this his 21stseason, playing for the Mavericks.
Regardless of his decision, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said the legacy for the 2008 NBA MVP and the 2011 NBA champion is fully secure as a difference-maker in a variety of ways.
``He’s certainly revolutionized the power forward position. It’s no longer the power forward position; it’s the stretch-four position because of Dirk, really,’’ Carlisle said. ``And when he became the first European player ever to become an NBA MVP, that was a big deal.
``There have been a lot of very good European and International players before him. I was fortunate to work with (Arvydas) Sabonis and (Drazen) Petrovic – and those guys were tremendous – but Dirk took things to a different level,’’ Carlisle continued. ``He became a Finals MVP and a World Champion and that was a game-changer for his legacy and for the legacy of future guys coming in overseas. To me, it just sort of blew open the idea that there was a certain ceiling on international players. Really, during two significant periods over the last several years when he was the best player on the planet – in ’07 when he was the MVP and ’11 when we finished (champion) and he was the Finals MVP. He’s had a great career and we don’t know the timetable on what he’s going to do (with retirement), but day-to-day it’s a pleasure to watch him prepare to work. He’s an amazing athlete.’’
UP NEXT: Home for just one game after playing five of the previous six games on the road, the Magic will depart Central Florida again on Saturday. They will play the Memphis Grizzlies at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
Memphis is the one team in the NBA that the Magic have yet to face this season. They have played each of the other 28 teams at least once this season. The Magic and Grizzlies will play twice in 13 days with Memphis being at the Amway Center for the rematch on March 22.
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