Orlando Magic Forward Brandon Bass (Flu) Unavailable Tonight against New Jersey

by Evan Dunlap on Nov 13, 2009 12:59 PM EST in News

Multiple news outlets, including Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, report that Orlando Magic power forward Brandon Bass has come down with the flu and will miss tonight's game against the New Jersey Nets at the very least. Bass was the Magic's last available power forward, as starter Rashard Lewis (suspension) and top reserve Ryan Anderson (sprained ankle) were already sidelined.

With Bass out, small forward Matt Barnes will shift up to power forward in his stead. Center Marcin Gortat and small forward Mickael Pietrus could also see time at the position.

In his 3 starts this season, Bass has posted averages of 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 24.7 minutes while shooting 48.3% from the field. Barnes might be an improvement over Bass in at least one respect, as he has soundly out-rebounded him on a per-minute basis despite playing further from the hoop. Nonetheless, Bass' absence leaves the Magic with no healthy power forwards and at least 240 minutes to divide between 8 9 players this evening. It is thus imperative for Gortat and starting center Dwight Howard to avoid foul trouble.

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oh fantastic.

Only silver lining is that we’re up against NJ who’s probably the only team more depleted than the Magic, and happen to be winless.

by RussL on Nov 13, 2009 1:08 PM EST reply actions

Yeah, if there's a game Brandon Bass can afford to miss, this one is it.

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"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 13, 2009 2:58 PM EST up reply actions

So wait

Nelson / Williams / AJ
Vince / JJ
Pietrus
Barnes
Dwight / Gortat

Ouch. Guess we’ll see VC at the 3, Gortat at the 4, and maybe a PG at the 2?

Hope Stan is well rested, he’ll need all mental capacity to keep 5 players in the game. Pray for no foul trouble.

Ironically, in the next game, we could gain 3 players, all at the same position.

by TheRevTy on Nov 13, 2009 1:39 PM EST reply actions

That is ironic haha.

by thermodynamic on Nov 13, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions

Williams or Anthony cant be shifted to another position?

by Kennedy K on Nov 13, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions

Nelson and Williams have both been on the floor at the same times on a few occasions so far

by RussL on Nov 13, 2009 2:27 PM EST up reply actions

Williams has played alongside Nelson before.

As has Johnson, so those are possibilities for tonight’s game.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 13, 2009 2:57 PM EST up reply actions

You are effing kidding me?!?!

I guess this start of the year can be characterized as a character-builder.

Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek

by funny80sguy on Nov 13, 2009 2:59 PM EST reply actions

The Nets only have 8 players dressing for tonight.

So we could end up with 4 on 4 at the end. Courtney Lee is out.

by NC Magic Fan on Nov 13, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions

I could totally see SVG pull a Norman Dale with the Magic

Dwight, Gortat, AJ, & Barnes have all fouled out; Peaches gets up from the bench to come into the game, and SVG, frustrated with all of the wild drives and forced 3 pt shots, stops him and tells the referee that he will go with the 4 guys that are on the floor.

After the game, SVG goes into the locker room and announces that the guys have through the weekend to figure out if they want to play defense or not. If not, they can stay home.

Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek

by funny80sguy on Nov 13, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

LMAO.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 13, 2009 3:37 PM EST up reply actions

Let's not get all crazy here.

The Magic haven’t been a BAD defensive team. They’re currently 17th in defensive efficiency in the league. They’ve been an AVERAGE defensive team.

Will the Magic need to get better than that? Most likely. Can they get better than that? Definitely… we have the talent. But 17th in the league, at a time when we’re severely depleted by injury, is not the time for panic. It’s the time for measured improvement. And the first step to that improvement is Lewis, and to a lesser extent Anderson, coming back.

He's currently two-thirds man, one-third amazing. Which, let's face it, is still a pretty good ratio.

by 3.3seconds on Nov 13, 2009 6:42 PM EST up reply actions