Jalen Suggs monitoring left wrist injury as Magic travel to Pacers
MILWAUKEE — It takes a lot for Jalen Suggs to sit out a game for the Magic this season.
The third-year guard, however, did just that Thursday night at Fiserv Forum against the Bucks when Orlando (16-11) lost its fourth straight.
Suggs, who often puts his body in peril for his teammates with his physical style of defense, missed just his third game of the season in Milwaukee due to a sprained left wrist that he suffered Dec. 15 at Boston.
Listed as questionable for Saturday’s road meeting with the Pacers (Bally Sports Florida, 7), Suggs told the Sentinel he’s just continuing to monitor the injury and be smart about treating it.
“Nah,” Suggs said when asked in the Magic’s locker room after Thursday’s loss if his left wrist sprain is something that could force him to miss more time. “Coming in, playing that aggressive and having that mindset, you’ve still got to listen to your body.
“[I am] just taking it day by day.”
Suggs explained the fact that Thursday’s game was on the second night of a back-to-back didn’t factor into him not being available. He played 21 minutes less than 24 hours earlier at Kia Center against the Heat.
“I kind of wanted to get it taken care of so I don’t have to deal with it no more,” he said about the wrist injury.
He watched from the bench as the Magic battled Milwaukee but came up short.
Veteran forward Joe Ingles (left ankle sprain) missed his third game in a row, too. He’s also questionable vs. Indiana.
Beede’s Breakdown: How Magic couldn’t topple Bucks, dropped 4th straight
“We played solid basketball,” Suggs said about Thursday’s game. “We did enough to win but we didn’t knock some open looks that we had, which we can live with. The boys did great, played well and executed the things the coaches were asking.”
And Suggs is accurate in his assessment.
Against the Bucks, the Magic shot 5 of 22 from 3-point range when the closest defender was six feet or more away from the shooter (meaning they’re wide open).
It’s become a common trend for Orlando while they’ve lost six of their last eight games.
In their last eight, the Magic shot 31.7% from beyond the arc when the closest defender was six feet or more away from the shooter. During that stretch, that percentage is second worst only behind the Pistons, who’ve lost 25 games in a row.
It’s a far cry from the long-range shooting success Orlando saw from Nov. 15 to Dec. 1 during its nine-game win streak.
In those nine games, the Magic shot 42.7% on 3s when the closest defender was six feet or more away from the shooter. That mark was sixth best in the NBA during that stretch.
Whether or not he can play against the Pacers (14-13), whom the Magic beat by 12 on Nov. 19, Suggs wants to see Orlando continue to stick to its core principles.
“Play defense, get out in transition and dominate paint,” he said about the keys to a win at Indiana. “Just things that we’ve been doing throughout the year — things that have been good for us.
“Continuing to stay locked in, take it one game at a time and get off this skid.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, also known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.
