Denton: Carter Doubtful For Tuesday
By John Denton
January 11, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Orlando Magic star guard Vince Carter spent Monday rehabilitating his sprained left shoulder instead of practicing, making his availability for Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings highly unlikely.
Carter suffered a mild separation of the shoulder in Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards and he didn’t dress for Saturday’s lopsided defeat of the Atlanta Hawks. Doctors deemed the shoulder to be structurally sound and Carter said he’s been told he will be allowed to return as soon as he can tolerate the pain in the shoulder.
Carter said his ability to raise his arm overhead has improved, but it’s the motions across his body that are the most painful.
``It’s better, but it’s still a problem,’’ Carter said from ARCO Arena. ``All we’re doing is rehab, rehab, rehab right now. I don’t want to put a timeframe on (his return), but I’m hoping to be back out there sometime this week.’’
The Magic (25-12) begin an eight-day roadtrip Tuesday against the Kings (15-21). Orlando then plays in Denver (Wednesday), Portland (Friday) and in Los Angeles against the Lakers in a NBA Finals rematch on Monday.
Carter, whom the Magic acquired last June in a draft-day blockbuster trade, has been mired in a terrible shooting slump most of the season. About to turn 33 years old in a week, Carter is shooting a career worst from the floor (39.2 percent) and his 3-point shooting (30.9 percent) is his worst since his rookie season in the NBA.
Carter showed signs of breaking out of his recent slump last Friday in Washington. He got to the free throw line six times in the game’s first 10 minutes and converted a tough basket in traffic. But he went down in a heap when he hit his shoulder on the hip of Washington’s Andray Blatche while trying to fight over a screen.
Carter’s last four-plus games have been puzzling in how he’s struggled to make shots. Too often, he’s pulled up on drives rather than going all the way to the rim and has had to heave up low-percentage runners.
That has led to Carter making just 11 of his last 49 shots and one of 13 from 3-point range.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy thinks that the struggles have started to weigh on Carter and he’s begun pressing. Van Gundy and Carter met privately before Friday’s game in Washington and the coach tried to get Carter to play more off what the defense is giving him and to trust his instincts more.
Van Gundy also wonders if Carter, a Daytona Beach native, is pressing somewhat because he’s playing close to home again and he’s now a part of a championship contending team.
``I think Vince has come into a situation where he wants to do really, really well and he’s overthinking everything that he done,’’ Van Gundy said. ``You hope he realizes that it’s not all on him. Just play the game and make good decisions.
``Vince has always been a very unselfish player over the years when you look at his assist totals over the years,’’ Van Gundy continued. ``He’s always had good basketball instincts. … He’s a guy who a lot of stuff has always come easy to him. Then, all of a sudden he had a couple of bad games and he started thinking too much and predetermining too much. If he missed a guy he was going to pass the next time no matter what the defense dictated. That’s not what got him to the success level that he’s had and that’s not what good players do. Vince has great basketball instincts and he just needs to trust those instincts.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonJanuary 11, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Orlando Magic star guard Vince Carter spent Monday rehabilitating his sprained left shoulder instead of practicing, making his availability for Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings highly unlikely.
Carter suffered a mild separation of the shoulder in Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards and he didn’t dress for Saturday’s lopsided defeat of the Atlanta Hawks. Doctors deemed the shoulder to be structurally sound and Carter said he’s been told he will be allowed to return as soon as he can tolerate the pain in the shoulder.
Carter said his ability to raise his arm overhead has improved, but it’s the motions across his body that are the most painful.
``It’s better, but it’s still a problem,’’ Carter said from ARCO Arena. ``All we’re doing is rehab, rehab, rehab right now. I don’t want to put a timeframe on (his return), but I’m hoping to be back out there sometime this week.’’
The Magic (25-12) begin an eight-day roadtrip Tuesday against the Kings (15-21). Orlando then plays in Denver (Wednesday), Portland (Friday) and in Los Angeles against the Lakers in a NBA Finals rematch on Monday.
Carter, whom the Magic acquired last June in a draft-day blockbuster trade, has been mired in a terrible shooting slump most of the season. About to turn 33 years old in a week, Carter is shooting a career worst from the floor (39.2 percent) and his 3-point shooting (30.9 percent) is his worst since his rookie season in the NBA.
Carter showed signs of breaking out of his recent slump last Friday in Washington. He got to the free throw line six times in the game’s first 10 minutes and converted a tough basket in traffic. But he went down in a heap when he hit his shoulder on the hip of Washington’s Andray Blatche while trying to fight over a screen.
Carter’s last four-plus games have been puzzling in how he’s struggled to make shots. Too often, he’s pulled up on drives rather than going all the way to the rim and has had to heave up low-percentage runners.
That has led to Carter making just 11 of his last 49 shots and one of 13 from 3-point range.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy thinks that the struggles have started to weigh on Carter and he’s begun pressing. Van Gundy and Carter met privately before Friday’s game in Washington and the coach tried to get Carter to play more off what the defense is giving him and to trust his instincts more.
Van Gundy also wonders if Carter, a Daytona Beach native, is pressing somewhat because he’s playing close to home again and he’s now a part of a championship contending team.
``I think Vince has come into a situation where he wants to do really, really well and he’s overthinking everything that he done,’’ Van Gundy said. ``You hope he realizes that it’s not all on him. Just play the game and make good decisions.
``Vince has always been a very unselfish player over the years when you look at his assist totals over the years,’’ Van Gundy continued. ``He’s always had good basketball instincts. … He’s a guy who a lot of stuff has always come easy to him. Then, all of a sudden he had a couple of bad games and he started thinking too much and predetermining too much. If he missed a guy he was going to pass the next time no matter what the defense dictated. That’s not what got him to the success level that he’s had and that’s not what good players do. Vince has great basketball instincts and he just needs to trust those instincts.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
