As winners of four-straight games, the Orlando magic are headed in a positive direction as the regular season winds down. However, they suffered another injury setback. 

The organization announced on Tuesday that guard Anthony Black has been diagnosed with a left lateral abdominal muscle strain after undergoing an MRI. The news comes after Black has played in only two of Orlando’s last five games due to injury. 

Black is having a breakout season, and there are ways in which his absence will affect the team: 

As previously mentioned, Black is having a breakout season, and it is happening because of his scoring.  

In year three of his NBA career, the 22-year-old product of Arkansas has improved his scoring average from 9.4 points to 15.3 points per game. He has also increased his field goal percentage (42.3%-45.1%) and — while still not great — his 3-point percentage (33.9%) from his sophomore season to now. 

Black’s assist average has also gone up slightly (3.1-3.8 APG) as well as his rebounds (2.9-3.9 RPG) in that same span.  

Up until recently, Black has been a staple of health and availability for his team. In 63 of the Magic’s games, Black has played in 60 and started 40 of them. 

Given Orlando’s struggles with health for multiple years now with several players, the fact that Black has been not only available but significantly improved makes his presence that much more important and will be a reason he is missed during his time off the court. 

Additionally, while Black is not an elite defender, it is worth noting that his ability to defend and produce steals has increased year over year. From his rookie season to now, he has gone from averaging 0.5 steals per game to 1.4 steals per game.  

The loss of Black does not just affect what he does on the court individually, but how his presence helps others. 

With Franz Wagner still out due to a nagging left ankle injury, Black’s presence gave Orlando another legitimate option alongside Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs. With him on the floor, the Magic could utilize different combinations that would allow them to produce in a multitude of ways on both ends of the court.

Now that Black is sidelined, the onus falls even more squarely on the shoulders of Banchero, Bane and Suggs to make things happen on the offensive end while trying to uphold the team’s defensive identity.  

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