ORLANDO – Describing the recovery from a concussion as a “quite lonely process,” Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo got great delight in simply being back around his teammates on Monday.
Because of the headaches he suffered and the sensitivity to both light and sound after suffering a concussion last Wednesday night, Oladipo was instructed to limit the amount of television he watched and the time spent on his phone. The standout guard did manage to watch most of the Magic’s last two games without him – Friday home victory against Utah and Saturday’s frustrating loss to the Washington Wizards – and it left him feeling quite helpless.
“It tests your patience, honestly. You’ve just got to be patient and let your body heal and your mind heal,” said Oladipo, who passed a first test on Monday of riding a stationary bicycle without any concussion-like symptoms. “You don’t want to let your mind run too much and that’s what I’ve been trying to do the last couple of days. I’m just looking forward to getting back and helping my team out. I don’t like watching, especially feeling like I can’t help out.”
Oladipo was hurt last Wednesday when he chased after a loose ball and ran face-first into the shoulder of teammate Dewayne Dedmon. Oladipo, 23, stayed down on the floor a couple of seconds before getting up and motioning to the bench that he needed out of the game.
Once back in the locker room, Oladipo was given a battery of tests and it was determined that he had suffered a concussion, meaning he was now subject to the NBA’s protocol for handling head injuries.
“When I first got hit, it was like a big bell in my head and the lights were flickering a little bit,” Oladipo recalled. “I didn’t really remember how I got hit until I saw the video. At the end of the day, all I can do is rest. That’s all I’m doing now. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but I’m just taking it day by day.”
The Magic (5-6) pressed ahead without their standout shooting guard on Monday, trying to solve their woes starting the second halves of games. Orlando led 56-50 at intermission on Saturday, but allowed Washington to start the third quarter with a 13-4 run. Orlando was outscored 29-20 in the third period – something of a long-standing problem so far this season.
Remarkably, Orlando ranks first in the NBA in first-quarter field goal percentage (51.2 percent) and 3-point shooting (49.1 percent) and second (only to undefeated Golden State) in first-quarter scoring (28.2 points). But their falloff is dramatic in the third quarter (40.7 percent shooting, 28th in the NBA; and 23.7 points, 25th in the NBA) and fourth quarter (40.8 percent shooting, 20th in the NBA; and 22.9 points, 26th in the NBA).
“We posed the question to the guys today, `Put your coaching hat on and what do you think it is?”’ said Magic coach Scott Skiles, who showed his team most all of the third and fourth quarters from from Saturday’s 108-99 loss in Washington. “A couple of the veteran guys said it was a lack of focus and not coming with a ton of energy – simple things that you can see.
“But this is what sports is about,” continued Skiles, whose Magic host Minnesota on Wednesday. “There are days when the (baseball) pitcher doesn’t have his best stuff and he finds a way to win. There are days when things aren’t going your way and you still find a way. We have struggled to find our way in some games and other games we haven’t.”
Orlando welcomed back veteran reserves Jason Smith (sore knee) and C.J. Watson (hamstring strain) to practice on Monday. Smith, who played excellent in two wins last week, missed the past four games with an injury suffered when he accidentally banged knees with an opponent, while Watson was out three straight.
Smith said it made him smile on Monday seeing Oladipo back around his Magic teammates because he knows exactly what the guard is dealing with now. Smith, an eight-year NBA veteran, took two hits to the head in 2011 and suffered a concussion that caused him to have headaches and sensitivity to light and sound.
“He’s in good spirits and with a concussion I’ve been there as well,” said Smith, who is averaging 5.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in six games so far. “You never want to try and come back too early with the symptoms that you might have. Now we’re so aware with the medical protocol (with concussions) because this isn’t like having an ache of a pain like having a sprained ankle or something with your knee. You really have to be conscious and aware of how you are thinking and feeling. Sometimes with a (concussion) it can affect you in other ways and it can affect you down the road.”
Oladipo has tried to keep that in mind while remaining patient with the NBA’s concussion protocol. He said he passed the first stage of testing by riding a stationary bike without suffering any symptoms. He was hopeful that he would be allowed to increase his activity levels more Monday afternoon and on Tuesday. Ultimately, Oladipo will have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before being cleared to practice with contact and play.
“It’s really good and definitely needed, first and foremost,” Oladipo said of the NBA’s concussion protocol. “Getting a concussion and learning what I’ve learned over the last couple of days, it’s not something to be messed around with and you’ve got to take it seriously. It’s great that the NBA has this protocol and I’ve just got to follow it.”
Oladipo, who is averaging 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.56 steals in nine games, said not being able to watch television or check out information on his phone made him feel like was he was “cutting yourself off from the world” and he added that “it’s a quite lonely process.”
Oladipo said on Monday that his mother, Joan, was coming to town to help with his recovery – something should help since mom is a registered nurse. Joan Oladipo rushed to Orlando last fall when Oladipo broke an orbital bone around his eye socket and needed surgery. He said the biggest relief of this incident was that it didn’t damage the metal plate below his eye again and he’s hoping that his recovery will continue to improve over the coming days.
“It was kind of freaky (watching the video of the collision), but at the end of the day it happens. It’s a game and anything can happen. But at the end of the day I’m just blessed and fortunate that it wasn’t anything severe and I didn’t break my face again,” Oladipo said. “For the most part and like I said, I’m just taking it day by day and waiting to see where to go from here. I’m a little anxious, but at the same time I’m making sure that I’m all right before I go back out there.”
