ORLANDO – Orlando Magic reserve Khem Birch knows the reality of his situation and he is well aware that in a matter of time he will almost assuredly return to his role as the team’s third-string center behind standout Nikola Vucevic and prized rookie Mo Bamba.
But Birch, now 26 and the married father of a newborn baby girl, says he is better equipped to handle being in a position where he might only play occasionally than earlier in his career. The 6-foot-9, 233-pound center was one of the heroes in Orlando’s 105-103 defeat of Boston on Saturday when he scored four points, grabbed 10 rebounds and swatted four shots in the place of Bamba (sore left foot).