The Orlando Magic come out of the NBA All-Star break with a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. Ahead of the game, there are now injury concerns for both sides. Donovan Mitchell’s status was already up in the air, and now Magic star Paolo Banchero is officially listed as questionable on the NBA injury report due to an illness. The Magic have Markelle Fultz listed as out and three other players out with G League assignments.
The question is this: Will Paolo Banchero suit up against the Cavs on Thursday?
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Paolo Banchero injury status vs. Cavs
Banchero popping up on the injury report is a concern for the Magic. He leads the team with 23 PPG and is fresh off a performance at the Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. Banchero also notched six points with nine rebounds in the All-Star Game as the Eastern Conference got the win and crossed the 200-point threshold.
The Cavs enter the game with the 2nd seed in the East and the Magic are tied with the Miami Heat for the 7th seed with identical 30-25 records. If the Magic want to avoid the Play-In Tournament, they need to finish out the second half of the season in a strong way, and Banchero is an essential part of the team’s success.
The Magic enter the game with a 5-2 record in the month of February, although they lost to the Cavs by 27 points on January 22.
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