The Orlando Magic were back on the practice floor Wednesday evening for the first time after the All-Star break, and one of their key young players was optimistic he’ll be back on the game floor soon.
R.J. Hampton fully practiced for the first time Wednesday after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in a road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 19.
He was sidelined for the next 14 games leading into the break.
“Everything’s great. Everything’s 100%,” Hampton told the Orlando Sentinel, with the Magic’s next game coming against the Houston Rockets Friday at Amway Center. “I’m ready to go. First practice back. Still listening to the training staff, but as far as me and my healthiness, I’m 100%.”
Hampton, who’s averaged 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists, added: “It was definitely a lot of fun. Haven’t done that in over a month. Getting back to playing with those guys and just getting back to doing what I do at a high level.”
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Hampton’s status for Friday will be better known after Thursday.
“We’re going to continue to see how he feels,” he said. “We’ll practice [Thursday] and continue to get a gauge on it.”
Moe Wagner, who missed the previous five games with a left rib contusion, wasn’t a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
“We’re going to keep gauging seeing how he feels,” Mosley said. “He’ll do a little bit more work [Thursday] and we’ll see how he responds back to what they’re having him do.”
No team has been impacted by injury-related and health-and-safety-protocol absences more than Orlando.
The Magic have had the most games missed because of injuries and the protocols (366) as of Feb. 22, which was 79 more than the next closest team (Los Angeles Clippers at 287), according to mangameslost.com, an injury analytics website.
Markelle Fultz (left anterior cruciate ligament tear in January 2021) and Jonathan Isaac (left ACL tear in August 2020) account for a significant chunk of those absences, with neither playing a game this season as they recover from their knee injuries.
Fultz, who was cleared for practice contact in late November, practiced Wednesday.
“He’s in the similar boat of understanding as we can get more practices under our belt,” Mosley said of Fultz, “see how he responds how we’re going and get a gauge of it from there.”
When asked what’s the next step in Fultz’s recovery, Mosley responded: “It’s a continued practice. Seeing how he responds to the treatment and recovery each day. We’ll see how his body continues to feel and monitor it from there.”
Isaac hasn’t progressed to contact in practices.
“JI’s just been doing some shooting, movement and [working] with coaches,” Mosley said. “Non-contact things.”
