MEXICO CITY – The Orlando Magic got a bit of much-needed good news on Wednesday when they found out that standout guard Evan Fournier would be rejoining the team and is expected to play Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.
However, with the good came a bit of bad. Guard Jonathon Simmons, who scored 18 points and buried two 3-pointers in Monday’s loss in Dallas, landed awkwardly in practice on Wednesday and sprained his right ankle. He is officially listed as questionable to play on Thursday when the Magic (12-15) and Bulls (6-22) play as part of the NBA Mexico City Games 2018.
Fournier, the Magic’s third-leading scorer, missed Monday’s loss to the Mavericks and it showed as Orlando mustered a season-low 76 points. The guard, who is in his fifth season with the Magic, spent most of Wednesday travelling to Mexico City and he is expected to be with the team for Thursday morning’s shootaround session at Ciudad de Mexico Arena.
``I spoke to him and he’s doing great and I’m glad that everything went well with the issue that he had,’’ said Magic center Nikola Vucevic, Fournier’s closest friend on the team. ``He’ll be back with us. Obviously, we missed him a lot and he will help us a lot coming back. He’s a huge part of what we do, but his family is what’s most important. Basketball is our job, but family is the most important thing. We’re just happy that he’s back and everything is fine.’’
Fournier had played in all 26 of Orlando’s games prior to Monday. He ranks third on the team in scoring (15.1), second in assists (3.8) and he’s tied for first in steals (1.0). His shooting (41.9 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from 3-point range) have been off a bit, but his 3.8 assists a game are a career high as he’s worked to become more of a playmaker.
Magic coach Steve Clifford has also raved about the often-overlooked defensive abilities of the 6-foot-7 Fournier. The Magic have used Fournier on some of the top scoring wings on opposing teams and he’s fared quite well. Clifford knew not having one of the team’s three captains – Aaron Gordon and Vucevic are the other two – would be a big setback on Monday.
``It hurts us because (Fournier) has guarded primary scorers all year, so it hurts our defense,’’ Clifford said. ``The big part is we play through (Fournier) so much. One or two nights without one of your better players, you can get by with it because our guys are good enough to do that.’’
With Fournier out on Monday, the Magic shifted Simmons to shooting guard, moved Gordon to small forward and inserted Jonathan Isaac into the starting lineup at power forward. As it turns out, Simmons was the only one to play well, drilling seven of 10 shots and two of four 3-pointers. Also, he was two of two from the free throw line as the Magic tied a franchise low for free throw attempts with five. Also, their four makes were one more than the franchise low.
Fournier will undoubtedly move back into the starting lineup on Thursday, while Simmons could switch back into a reserve role. Fournier has led Orlando in scoring four times and in assists nine times this season. He has one 30-point game, five 20-point games and 19 double-digit outputs thus far. Also, he handed out a career-best 10 assists in Boston on Oct. 22 and drilled a game-winner at the buzzer to beat Cleveland on Nov. 5.
``It’ll be great to get Evan back,’’ Isaac said. ``I’m glad his situation has gone well. His ability to shoot the ball and space the floor for us is big, so I’m glad to have him back.’’
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.