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By John DentonApril 10, 2016
MIAMI – Concussions to Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon caused the Orlando Magic to do some shuffling with their lineup on Sunday night and it also created something of a phenomenon that just further shows the globalization of the NBA.
When the Magic moved Mario Hezonja and Ersan Ilyasova into the first unit, it gave them five starters from five different countries. Elfrid Payton (USA), Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro), Evan Fournier (France) joined Hezonja (Croatia) and Ilyasova (Turkey) in Sunday night’s starting five. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time in the Magic’s 27-year history that they have started five players from five different nations in a game.
Orlando has one other international player, Andrew Nicholson, who hails from Canada, and he was one of the first reserves off the bench on Sunday.
“We all speak pretty good English, so communication is actually pretty good,” Fournier said. “To be honest, you don’t really care (where someone is from). When you are on the court, you don’t care if a guy is from Australia or the United States. This just shows that the league is changing.”
Fournier grew up a big fan of the Sacramento Kings, largely because of the success that Vlade Divac (Serbia), Peja Stojakovic (Croatia) and Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey) had. Ironically enough, Fournier’s favorite player was American guard Mike Bibby and Fournier wears No. 10 now in honor of the former Kings’ point guard.
“Not just playing, but being dominant. You don’t dream about (getting to the NBA) and just staying on the bench, but getting there and being a starter and performing at the highest level,” Fournier said. “It was Vlade, Peja, and a few years later Tony (Parker) and Dirk (Nowitzki).”
INJURY UPDATES: A second concussion in six months could very well end the season for Oladipo, while Gordon – who was also concussed four days ago – could potentially return to play in the regular-season finale on Wednesday.
Gordon, 20, passed the first stage of the NBA’s concussion protocol on Sunday with some light exercise without any symptoms returning. If he continues to progress, he could possibly be ready to play in Wednesday’s finale in Charlotte, Magic coach Scott Skiles said.
“Aaron’s better, I know that,” Skiles said. “The first step in the protocol is some light, on-the-bike activity for a half hour and he was going to do that and he’s better. And Victor’s about the same, so I’m not sure on him.”
Oladipo took an incidental elbow to his left eyebrow on Friday, a blow that opened up a sizeable gash and gave the standout guard a concussion. He did not accompany the Magic to Miami on Saturday and Sunday and very well could miss the final two games on Monday and Wednesday.
Oladipo’s injury is of concern because he sustained a similar concussion on Nov. 11 when he hit the side of his head on the shoulder of teammate Dewayne Dedmon. That time, Oladipo experienced headaches, sensitivity to light and nausea and missed two games.
If Oladipo is held out of action the rest of the way, his third season in the NBA ends with him averaging 16 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 72 games (52 starts). He made 43.8 percent of his field goals, 34.8 percent of his 3-pointers and 83 percent of his free throws.
FOURNIER’S TOUGHNESS: When the Magic blew a four-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, Fournier took it especially hard. He scored 19 points, but he was highly upset about making just seven of 15 shots and missing all five 3-pointers to drop his accuracy from 3-point range below 40 percent for the season.
Fournier was one of the Magic’s first players at practice on Thursday to get up extra shots. He was determined to play better on Friday.
That he did, battering the Miami Heat for 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists – the final pass setting up Nikola Vucevic’s game-winning dunk with 20 seconds to play. He made seven of 12 shots, drilled both of his 3-point shots, hit 12 of 15 free throws and basically was a model of efficiency in his 46 minutes on the floor.
“When you home you don’t feel good about yourself and that’s probably the worst feeling that you can have as a basketball player,” said Fournier, who came into Sunday night averaging 15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game. “I had to go look at the tape (from Wednesday’s game) and work on the mental aspect of the game. I did that and I was ready (on Friday).”
