Magic forward Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft, will miss his fifth consecutive game Friday against Chicago with a sprained left ankle.
He told Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel prior to Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota that he’s making progress in his recovery, but he’s still experiencing soreness and expects to miss at least another week to with the injury.
As Price writes, Banchero sustained the injury late in a Nov. 7 loss to Houston. The former Duke big man has looked every bit the part of a No. 1 pick, averaging 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists through 11 games (34.6 minutes per night).
On a positive note, guard Gary Harris could make his 2022-23 season debut for the Magic on Friday, Price writes in another article for the Orlando Sentinel. Harris has been sidelined since he tore his left meniscus in late August, which required surgery. He’s officially listed as probable against the Bulls.
The 28-year-old shooting guard signed a two-year, $26M extension with Orlando at the end of June just before free agency opened. The second year is non-guaranteed.
After missing Wednesday’s contest with a right plantar fascia strain (Twitter link), forward/center Wendell Carter Jr. is also listed as probable vs. Chicago, Price notes (via Twitter). Head coach Jamahl Mosley said it’s something Carter has been dealing with for a while.
“He’s been playing through it. I think it flared up a little bit more the other day. But he’s been playing through…that’s the thing about him. He’s going to try to fight through it as much as he can,” Mosley said, per Price (Twitter link).
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