The Magic are continuing to closely monitor the health and recovery of Paolo Banchero, who was ruled out of his ninth consecutive contest ahead of Orlando hosting the Bulls at Kia Center on Monday night.
Banchero, who suffered a left groin strain when he last played Nov. 12 at New York, is “still doing a lot of non-contact things,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after morning shootaround at the AdventHealth Training Center.
“We just continue to see and monitor how he responds to each treatment each day,” Mosley said.
After facing Chicago, the Magic have two more home games this week: Wednesday against the Spurs and Friday vs. the Heat.
Typically, full contact is the precursor to an injured player’s return to game action. Mosley was asked directly if contact work is something that could happen for Banchero while the team is home following a three-game trip last week.
“Again, it goes off how he responds to what he’s been doing for the past couple days,” the Magic coach said. “Obviously, travel has been a part of things so it’s hard to get a gauge on it, but us being back home this week is so important, just for that, to be able to be in this gym, this facility to get the proper recovery things he needs and we need.”
Banchero missed two-plus months last season when he suffered a torn right oblique, a more serious injury compared to the one he is dealing with currently.
He previously only sat out 10 games as a rookie and just two as a sophomore before missing 36 last year.
Banchero has kept a positive outlook on the situation and has taken advantage of the opportunity to watch games from a different perspective than usual, according to Mosley.
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily, ‘Here we go again,’ but it’s more along the lines of just continuing to know that there is a process that he’s following to get himself back on the court,” Mosley said. “His spirits have been great. Him being on the bench, communicating with the guys, talking to the coaches about what he sees … The game slows down just that much more for him as well, as he’s watching it as a coach for these moments. (He is) just continuing to put the work in to get back on the court.”
Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. said it hasn’t been hard keeping Banchero engaged with his teammates throughout the process.
“He’s one of those guys who wants to be involved, even though he’s not playing,” Carter said. “He’s at every practice, he’s talking, giving his 2 cents, been doing a great job during games when he’s seeing different coverages, helping us being able to read the game a little bit more because he’s usually the one out there with us.”
Entering Monday, the Magic were 6-2 without Banchero, winning five of their last six with second-year forward Tristan da Silva starting in his place.
Banchero has worked to make sure it won’t be a difficult transition when he does return.
“When he comes back, he wants to just continue to help this team win,” Carter said. “He’s just trying to make sure we’re all staying on the straightened arrow, just continuing to win games so when he gets back, it’s an easy way for him to just come in and join the team.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. San Antonio
When: 7, Wednesday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida