Report: Aaron Gordon to be re-evaluated after hamstring injury

The Orlando Magic medical staff has been far too busy of late.

From Wes Iwundu to Jonathan Isaac to Michael Carter-Williams to Aaron Gordon.

Gordon exited Wednesday night’s 109-99 loss to the Raptors in the third quarter with an apparent hamstring injury. After Gordon was hacked on the arm by Kyle Lowry while airborne on a dunk attempt with 9:34 left in the third, he landed awkwardly and fell to the floor in pain, clutching his left hamstring.

Lowry was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. Gordon initially remained in the game, knocking down one of two free throws and then scoring on the Magic’s ensuing possession. Gordon checked out of the game following a Magic timeout with 8:48 remaining in the quarter.

And he had some words for Lowry on his way out...

The Magic soon announced that Gordon would not return because of hamstring tightness.

“Obviously, the officials didn’t think it was the right play because they called the flagrant,” Steve Clifford told reporters after the game. “But obviously, it would be a huge hit for us.”

Added Wes Iwundu: “Definitely an out of place foul I would say, man. I have no respect for that, honestly. But you know AG is a competitor and at the end of the day, you react a little way. But it’s a part of the game. I just think that could have been handled different. Moving forward, we gotta protect each other. Everyone involved in the game has to protect each other.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic later reported that Gordon did not suffer serious damage to his hamstring.

Not sure what “several” days equates to. But it sure makes it sound unlikely that Gordon will be available for the Magic’s game against the Sixers on Friday.

With Orlando needing just a win or a Wizards loss to clinch a playoff spot, and with little to no difference between the benefits of having the seventh or eighth seed, there is no sense of urgency for the Magic to rush Gordon back.

That likely would mean a starting role for Iwundu or Gary Clark, and a shorter bench for a Magic team that would be without core pieces in Isaac, Gordon and essentially Mo Bamba, who has received consecutive DNPs for conditioning purposes.