Tobias Harris out for Magic on Monday with sore knee but MRI clean

Things looked better for the Orlando Magic. For a minute.

After winning Friday in the team's first game under interim head coach James Borrego, the Magic subsequently lost a nail-biter to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. They'll now be tasked with beating the Washington Wizards, and doing so without combo-forward Tobias Harris.

Harris will unexpectedly sit out Monday's game due to a sore right knee. One of the Magic's major bright spots this season, Harris is averaging 17.4 points and 6.6 rebounds with an above-average 16.9 PER. The pending restricted free agent has proven himself quite the offensive weapon and recently scored 57 points over a two-game stretch, shooting 23-of-31 in those games.

An MRI on Harris' right knee was negative, so this may not be a long-term issue.

He'll cede his starting spot to rookie Aaron Gordon, who's spent more time at the four than the three as a freshman. In 21 games, the Arizona product is averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, flashing potential on both ends of the floor following an early season foot injury.

Losing Harris obviously isn't a positive, but Monday will provide a nice look at how Gordon may fit in a unit with Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo. That youthful three-man unit has been outscored heavily in 93 minutes together, but there seems to be far greater defensive potential than the group has shown. Also, some of those minutes involved Gordon at power forward instead of small forward, where he'll spot in Monday.