Magic's Paolo Banchero: Closing in on return

The Magic announced Friday that Banchero has entered the "return to competition reconditioning" phase of his recovery from a torn right oblique, but he remains without a firm timeline to be cleared for game action, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports. "Just been doing a lot of rehab and a lot of ramping up, trying to get my body back to playing shape," Banchero said prior to Friday's 108-85 loss to the Knicks, when asked where he stands in his recovery from the injury he sustained Oct. 30. "Obviously, I had to sit 30-plus days without really doing much. So, I just had to kind of get my body back in that mode and I'm still in the process of that."

While Banchero's condition is seemingly improving, the star forward still has a few more checkpoints to hit in his rehab program before making his return to the Magic lineup. Notably, Reynolds relays that Banchero hasn't yet dunked the basketball nor taken part in 5-on-5 work since suffering the injury, though the 22-year-old has begun the process of getting himself back into playing shape following the long layoff. A clearer target date for Banchero's return may become available once he's been able to take part in full-contact practices.