Orlando Magic · 9 notes
Orlando's Noah Penda will miss the start of the season with a new hamstring injury on the same leg as his first, which imaging showed had fully healed. Timeline? "I have no idea, honestly." He won't rush back. Sean Sweeney: whoever gains minutes has "to be ready to go."
Franz Wagner (right shoulder soreness) will be re-evaluated, Sean Sweeney said after Orlando's Oct. 16 game. So will Noah Penda (right hamstring tightness) and Jase Richardson (back soreness), who both left the game. No timelines; Desmond Bane didn't know how bad either is.
Jase Richardson is back with Orlando's second unit after a temporary turn as a starter. Noah Penda said he has organized the reserves since: "I think he's adjusted pretty well with that new temporary role of a starter." Jalen Suggs made his preseason debut with the starters.
Noah Penda "definitely got the aggressiveness part down" in his preseason debut, Orlando's Sean Sweeney said, calling him an extremely hard worker. The next step is offensive balance: "If he can add a little bit more balance at times, that would be great."
"I'm glad to be back. Glad to be able to play basketball again," Orlando's Noah Penda said at shootaround. Getting slimmer helped his cardio, movement and recovery; his shot work since Summer League is about "staying down more." He's learning the new staff's schemes.
Franz Wagner handling the ball is by design: he's done it all camp, Orlando's Sean Sweeney said. Nikola Vucevic credits Wagner's passing to "Michigan education... although they do cheat in football." Sweeney didn't commit on Anthony Black or Noah Penda: "you can't skip steps."
Jalen Suggs is "still under the weather, but he's been getting some shots up," Sean Sweeney said at Orlando's practice. He gave no timeline, only that they'll be smart about bringing him back. Anthony Black and Noah Penda were "full participants in practice, doing well."
Jalen Suggs got on the court a bit at Magic practice on Oct. 6 but is "still under the weather a little bit," Sean Sweeney said. Noah Penda had his first full practice after a hamstring injury. He was pain-free within 48 hours but held off so it wouldn't come back.
Anthony Black and Noah Penda did more ramp-up work at Orlando Magic practice and both said they felt great. Sean Sweeney: "Hopefully they came out clean. Looks like they did." Some players may get minutes limits in preseason games, he said, "but we still want to compete."