Magic Guard Cole Anthony OUT; How Will Orlando Respond?
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic continue to get bit by the injury bug. This time, point guard Cole Anthony is the one who's been stung with an oblique strain that could keep him out for a while.
So, how will the winless Magic play without their lead guard?
Well, thankfully Orlando has Jalen Suggs. Oh wait, he's out with an ankle sprain.
At least the team has former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz. Wait, never mind, he's hurt his toe.
That's why you need veteran guards like Gary Harris on your team. Except he's still recovering from knee surgery over the summer.
The Magic, quite literally, is running out of guards.
That means R.J. Hampton and two-way player Kevon Harris are the only healthy guards on the roster and should see an uptick in playing time. However, neither player provides the scoring volume that Anthony brought to the table. Anthony averaged 15.5 points per game in four contests this season, and Hampton and Harris are not the kind of guys who can cover that by themselves.
The Magic has always talked about contributing "by committee," and that's exactly how Anthony's minutes and points will be replaced.
Hampton or Harris will likely take Anthony's vacancy in the starting lineup, but his scoring will have to come from a few different places. It wouldn't surprise to see second-round rookie Caleb Houstan with a spike in minutes either. Houstan shot 35 percent from the three-point line last season at Michigan and could arguably be the team's best shooter from distance apart from Terrence Ross.
Speaking of Ross, the team will have to rely on him a little bit more to chip into the scoring. The same goes for the team's leading scorers, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
Banchero has scored at least 20 points in each of his first five games, and even cracked the 30-point threshold in Wednesday's loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But a situation like this is extremely difficult for head coach Jamahl Mosley to adapt to.
It's a common issue he's had to deal with since he became Orlando's head coach last year, but Mosley is running out of offense.
Orlando has struggled shooting the ball this season. It is early in the year, but the team ranks 26th in the league in true shooting percentage and 28th in offensive rating. That can change, but it's a lot harder to make the movement towards the top without Anthony or a tangible solution to turn things around.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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