Jalen Suggs is getting closer, and Orlando is hoping that help arrives soon enough to stop the slide.
The Magic guard has now reached the end of the two-week re-evaluation window after suffering a mild bone bruise in his right knee at New York on Oct. 25 at Madison Square Garden. On Monday, the team said Suggs is “progressing positively” and “continues in his return-to-play protocols, including court work,” though there is still no exact timetable for his return. His next step will depend on how he handles increased court activity.
For now, Suggs will sit out his seventh straight game when Orlando visits Sacramento on Tuesday night to open the third leg of a four-game West Coast trip. Before the injury, he was averaging 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2 steals in 33.3 minutes over Orlando’s first three games.
The Magic are trying to regroup after a seven-point overtime loss at Golden State on Saturday night, a game they played without Suggs, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane. Banchero is only 16 days removed from a right high ankle sprain, while Bane is back around the team after dealing with an undisclosed illness over the weekend.
“It’s great to be back,” the Magic guard said after practice in San Francisco on Monday ahead of the team traveling to Sacramento. “A lot of the guys like when they saw me, they (were) like, ‘Wow!’
Feel like it’s been forever since they heard my voice or (have seen) me. That’s how I felt, too.
I don’t like being away from the team, being bunkered down in my room.”
“But I’m feeling better, trying to get my energy back,” Bane added. “But I’m glad to be back.”
Coach Sean Sweeney said Bane was “moving around a little bit” in Monday’s practice, and he also said Anthony Black is doing well after leaving Saturday’s game late in overtime because of cramping. Neither Bane nor Black showed up on the team’s initial injury report for Tuesday’s matchup.
Orlando enters the night at 2-7 and trying to end a four-game losing streak. Sacramento is in a rough stretch of its own at 1-9, with a three-game skid and no home wins in five tries. The Kings also carried the league’s second-worst defensive rating at 120.1 into Monday’s games, while Orlando’s 116.1 rating was only four spots better.
Sweeney said the Magic need to keep building on the things that showed up in San Francisco, especially on the glass and on defense, while also cleaning up the mistakes that have hurt them on offense.
“If we can continue to improve on our paint decisions and defensively, continue to improve how we contest shots, I think those are some things that we can carry forward, keep doing and then improve upon,” Sweeney said.
Bane saw Saturday’s comeback attempt as a sign of progress, even if it ended in another loss. Orlando erased a 16-point deficit to force overtime before falling short, and Bane said the response after a rough first half mattered.
“What’s being asked of us is something that we’re capable of,” Bane said. “One of the things I liked about (Saturday’s game) was that the first half wasn’t going our way, but we chose not to lay down and came out in the third quarter and really responded.
“It didn’t go our way but I was proud of the way we fought.”
After Sacramento, Orlando heads to Utah on Wednesday night.
In Other News...
Jamal Cain Just Gave The Magic A Rotation Question They Needed
Jamal Cain turned an unexpected opportunity into one of the more intriguing developments from Orlandos overtime loss to Golden State. With the rotation a little thinner because of Desmond Banes illness, Cain logged extended minutes and brought the kind of activity the Magic can always use, crashing the glass, running the floor and making his presence felt on both ends.
Sean Sweeney had plenty to like from Cains effort, especially the rebounding and energy that helped keep Orlando in the game late. The performance leaves the Magic with a worthwhile question moving forward: whether Cains latest burst was a one-night spark or the start of a larger role in a rotation that still has room for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Osceola Magic Just Showed Orlando Fans Exactly How They Want To Win
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Johnell Davis and J.D. Davison set the tone on that end, with Davis hounding ballhandlers and Davison supplying the kind of two-way impact that can swing a game. For Orlando fans watching the affiliate, it was a useful reminder of how this group wants to win: by making opponents uncomfortable, creating chaos and letting the defense drive everything else. The opener did not answer every question about the season ahead, but it did offer a clear picture of the standard Osceola intends to set. [Read more 🡒]
Magic May Have To Sacrifice A Core Piece Sooner Than Fans Expect
The early-season stumble has only sharpened the pressure on Orlando to make hard choices, and around the league the Magic are already being viewed as a team that could move a significant piece to ease payroll and rework the roster. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has made it clear the current group is not built to stay together forever, which gives added weight to every decision the front office makes as it tries to keep the team competitive without boxing itself in financially.
For a franchise trying to balance short-term progress with long-term flexibility, the question is no longer whether change is coming, but how soon and how painful it will be. Orlando may ultimately have to part with one of its top contracts to get the kind of cap breathing room it wants, and that leaves fans bracing for a move that could alter the core sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]