Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero missed the second half of Wednesday’s win over the New York Knicks, and after undergoing an MRI on Thursday, it has been confirmed that the forward suffered a left groin strain that will keep him out for Friday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania is reporting that Banchero will be evaluated daily moving forward. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Duke product miss multiple games. This season, Banchero is averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game with a 27.9% usage rate.
Jonathan Isaac started the second half in place of Banchero on Wednesday, making Isaac the top candidate to join the starting lineup on Friday. Plus, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane should take on bigger roles in Banchero’s absence. With the forward out for most of the game Wednesday against the Knicks, Wagner led Orlando with 28 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Bane finished with 22 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.
With Banchero off the floor this season, Wagner’s usage rises 6.4 percentage points to a team-high 31.4%. Meanwhile, Bane ranks second to Wagner in usage for this situation at 25.8%, which is a 2.5 percentage point increase from his average.
Friday will be Banchero’s first absence of the season, but with him inactive last season, the Magic were a solid 20-16. They will be facing the 1-10 Nets on Friday, who rank second-to-last in net rating this season.
