Concerning Injury Follows for Former MSU Guard
Former Michigan State star Gary Harris was sidelined once again with a hamstring injury for the Orlando Magic’s latest contest against the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Harris has dealt with a nagging hamstring throughout his eleventh season in the NBA, missing a large chunk of the season.
After coming back from a 13-game absence, Harris returned to the court for three games. The veteran scored 12 points in the three matchups before re-aggravating the injury.
A hamstring injury for a guard at 30 years old is very concerning. If this injury can’t clear up for Harris, it could cost him the twilight years of his career if he isn’t consistently available.
Orlando has solid depth at the guard position, with Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Anthony Black getting the nod before Harris.
Without getting consistent minutes, Harris’ production has taken a hit. At one time, Harris averaged over 11 points with the Magic. Now in his fifth season in Orlando, the Fishers, Indiana native is only averaging 4.1 points per game, the lowest average since his rookie season in 2014-15.
The Magic’s roster has been riddled with injuries all season. First, their star player, forward Paolo Banchero, has missed significant time with a torn oblique. Luckily for Orlando, he should return to the lineup within the next couple of weeks.
Then, a few weeks later, Michigan alum Franz Wagner suffered the same oblique injury after taking a significant jump in production due to the absence of Banchero.
To make matters worse, Wagner’s brother and Magic teammate, Mo Wagner, also went down with a torn ACL, which will likely end his season.
However, the Magic have managed to withstand the storm of injuries as head coach Jamahl Mosley has managed his team to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 20-15 with some of their best players missing.
Harris returning to action alongside the Magic’s stars in Banchero and Wanger will give them a boost for the second half of the season. Orlando can very well make an even further playoff push than last season, where they took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
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