Wendell Carter sees success coming off bench as Magic travel to Warriors
During his first five games back after missing 20 contests due to a fractured left hand, Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. looked far from his usual self.
He struggled to make an impact on offense (averaged 5.2 points) and appeared to be a step behind everyone else on the floor. The Orlando big man admitted as much in a previous interview with the Sentinel.
Sunday’s 5-point loss at Phoenix, however, was different for Carter — and in more ways than one.
He recorded a season-high 17 points, sank all three attempts from 3-point range, and grabbed 5 rebounds while finishing with the team’s highest plus-minus rating (plus-14) in 24 minutes.
Carter was effective for the Magic (19-13) against the Suns (17-15) thanks to a lineup adjustment made by coach Jamahl Mosley: Orlando’s regular starting center came off the bench instead.
Goga Bitadze made his 21st start in place of Carter.
“Just to have him back out as we continue to find different rhythms for our group, it’s great to have him on the floor,” Mosley said Sunday night.
If the Magic want to put Carter in a position to succeed again Tuesday (Bally Sports Florida, 10 p.m.) against the Golden State Warriors (15-17), it’ll likely be in a reserve role until he returns to form.
“That was great to see,” Magic star forward Paolo Banchero said after Orlando came up short to the Suns. “I just kept telling him all game, ‘Keep going, keep being aggressive.’ We’re a better team when he’s scoring the ball, being aggressive.
“We want him to keep playing like that. He’s going to help us a lot.”
Beede’s Breakdown: How Magic hurt themselves in loss at star-studded Suns
Beyond his trio of triples from the right side of the perimeter, the rest of Carter’s points came in the paint, where he went 3-of-4 shooting.
Carter was able play at the 4-spot alongside reserve center Moe Wagner when the pair checked into the game with two minutes left in the first quarter. Carter and Wagner played nearly eight minutes in the second frame when Carter scored 12 points.
Carter saw six minutes of action in the third quarter and nearly eight more in the fourth when he closed out the final three on the floor for the Magic.
The key for Carter was to play his style of basketball while making sure not to put his health in jeopardy as he continues to regroup from the left hand injury and right knee tendinitis.
“He did a heck of a job stepping back in,” Mosley said. “Obviously, making sure we monitored where he was [physically] but he did a great job of communicating with me and with his teammates of how he was feeling throughout the game.”
Although Carter had success coming off the bench, Orlando fell to 7-9 on the road in the loss at Phoenix.
The rest of the four-game western trip won’t get any easier for the Magic — the game at Golden State is on the front end of a back-to-back (Orlando travels to Sacramento on Wednesday) — but this year’s Warriors squad is far from the elite level of its past teams that won four NBA titles during the 2015-22 span..
Golden State sits 11th in the West and at the bottom of the Pacific Division. The Warriors have lost three straight and are 9-8 at home.
Still, the duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson is a dangerous one. Curry has scored 30-plus points 13 times and has reached 40-plus twice so far this season.
Golden State is also ranked first in offensive rebounding (13.3). The Warriors have out-rebounded their opponent in 20 games this season.
Orlando’s depth remains thin for the matchup. The Magic won’t won’t have Joe Ingles (left ankle sprain) for a ninth straight game and Jonathan Isaac (right hamstring strain) for a fifth consecutive contest.
Markelle Fultz (left knee tendinitis) is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game. He hasn’t played since Nov. 9 after he was downgraded from questionable to out Sunday at Phoenix.
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, also known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.
