Wendell Carter Jr. was back on the floor Wednesday wearing a mask for the first time after being hit in the face Monday against the Detroit Pistons and later being diagnosed with a nasal fracture.
The Orlando Magic center said the mask brought back memories of his football days, and he is still adjusting to it with each workout. He said playing through it gave him “some level of toughness” and, at the very least, made him feel tougher.
Carter’s return in a mask came with the regular season down to two games and the Magic trying to hold together a late push that has not followed a straight line. Orlando had lost six straight after a seven-game win streak and had dropped eight of 10 before winning its last four games, a run that included victories over the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
That swing is part of the backdrop for Carter’s comments Friday after shootaround, when he said the team knows where its attention has to be now. “That’s the point of it all, right? You can be as good or as bad throughout the whole season, but when the postseason comes, that’s when you want to be at your best,” he said. Carter added that since entering the league he has understood that a long year can contain a lot of different stretches, but what matters is arriving in the postseason at peak form mentally and physically.
The mask is more than a short-term fix for Carter. It is part of the late-season preparation that can matter when the standings settle and the games become less about recovery and more about readiness. Orlando’s recent run has steadied the team, but the injury puts one more layer on the final two games, and Carter will keep getting used to the mask as the Magic move toward the part of the season he keeps pointing to.
