Nikola Vucevic will see his first game action in nearly two weeks Saturday when he starts for the Magic against the Hawks at Amway Center. Vucevic was knocked out following the Magic’s win in Phoenix during their West Coast swing with a strained back.
Backs are notoriously difficult injuries and he and the Magic opted to let him heal and prevent further injury. Orlando went 2-4 without Vucevic in the lineup.
“It was very annoying just not being able to be out there with my teammates and participate in games,” Vucevic said before the game. “It’s part of the job we do. You just have to be patient, sit out and make sure it heals right. I’m glad i’m back tonight. It’s going to be fun. It has been a while for me.”
He has slowly been doing more and more but he will return without a full practice and without taking on too much contact. He has participated in some practice drills in the last week, but has not participated in a full practice as of yet. Jacque Vaughn said Vucevic had done some one-on-one drills.
Vucevic said he was able to do running and conditioning drills. Put that on top of Vucevic saying he was in the best condition of his career before and there is plenty of hope that Vucevic will re-enter the team without missing a beat.
Orlando has done well treading water for the time being, but no doubt the team missed its stellar rebounder. The Magic have been outrebounded in four of the six games Vucevic has missed. And Vucevic is a solid post option as someone the team can rely on to dump the ball in and get some points.
Nikola Vucevic returns to the lineup Saturday. Photo by Jeff Griffith-USA TODAY Sports
Vucevic is averaging 18.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. The rebounding mark is among the top-five in the NBA and he continues to show much better range around the perimeter in pick and rolls.
There is always a concern with back injuries though. Vucevic said there were some concerns with the back because he got a couple hits in the area. That is why he was held out. But this is not something anyone expects to be lingering. Vucevic said he had not had a back injury before. The injury was discovered when Vucevic reported more pain than usual.
Jacque Vaughn will be keeping a close eye on his minutes in these first few games. But Vucevic will be in the starting lineup.
He will try to hit the ground running.
“I have never really missed too much time so I don’t really know,” Vucevic said on returning. “The first game, I think, you are always kind of excited and just try to go out and play. You don’t really think about it. I’m just going to go out and play and not really think about it.”
