It’s been a frustrating stretch for Magic guard Jalen Suggs. He missed 10 games due to a low back strain and has now missed another eight games due to a left thigh contusion. Suggs has still only done non-contact work since his latest injury. Even if he’s able to return for Orlando’s last game before the All-Star break on Wednesday, Suggs will be on a minutes restriction.
“It’s just very important that we keep understanding that everyone’s body is different [and] how they respond to treatment is different,” head coach Jamahl Mosley told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “We’re going to make sure he’s taken care of the right way and understand exactly how we integrate guys back because this is for the long haul.”
The Magic have gone 5-14 over their past 10 games. Their overall defensive rating of 109.0 still ranks third in the league, but it was at 106.4 prior to Suggs’ first 10-game absence and has has been just 113.9 (14th) during that 19-game span without him.
“Jalen is a huge piece for us in what he does and his energy and his enthusiasm — same as Moe Wagner (who is out for the season),” Mosley said. “You can’t replace those pieces whether you try to or not. To put the weight of the entire defense on a young man and what he provides, it’s tough to do.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Andrew Wiggins‘ Heat debut didn’t go well. He shot 3-of-12 shooting from the field while scoring 11 points in 30 minutes against Boston on Monday. Wiggins, acquired from Golden State in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster, wasn’t fazed and knows an adjustment period will be necessary. “That’s the NBA for you,” he said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “It’s never going to be easy. Every game is going to be a dog fight, every game is important, especially for this team. I’m learning my way through. But at the end of the day, it’s basketball. I’ve been playing it since I was a kid. So I think I’ll be fine.”
- The Heat will play a preseason game in Puerto Rico this fall, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. It will be the team’s seventh exhibition in Puerto Rico over the team’s 38 seasons but their first since 2006.
- Veteran big man Larry Nance Jr. would likely draw a lot of interest in the buyout market but The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie doubts that Nance and the Hawks will pursue that avenue. League sources tell Vecenie that Atlanta coach Quin Snyder is a big fan of the 32-year-old, who has been in the Hawks’ rotation since returning last month from hand surgery. Nance will sit out Wednesday’s game due to a knee injury.
Heat fanbase about to show just how soft Dub Nation is about Wiggins, lol
I kept telling yall, Wiggs was no one’s pet project, he was just the only guy available for D’Angelo Russell. All NBA teams need a stretch wing or three, so Wiggs was that. But the entire time, he was always “just a guy”, he never deserved that All-star selection, that was more about him playing on a superior team than anything – if that wasnt true, then GSW would have been better the last 3 years. Wiggins makes 20-25 PPG money to put up 15-17. He’s -that- guy. Not an awful player, he still will get you 15-17 PPG and space the floor sometimes, but is in no way, shape or form a star player. Just an overpaid rotation piece.
Wiggs will certainly pull it together in good time.
Hopefully Wiggs’ performance doesn’t continue to be compared to Butler’s on a game-by-game basis, like we’re seen in the Bag Area media today. That’s unfair to Wiggins.
The bay area media is so funny. They praised Wiggins and sad to see him go and a couple of wins against team they should beat all of a sudden its the best team in a long time praise.
arc89 ,
In fairness, Butler has looked really, really good. And, many Bay Area reporters, obviously unfamiliar with Butler, argued that Butler’s stats indicated he was barely better than Wiggins, if at all.
That set up the ongoing head-to-head, which is unfair to a good player (Wiggins) that is nonetheless not in Butler’s class.
It sort of should be a slap to the face of Lacob and how they didn’t go all in on getting a 2nd superstar immediately.
Like, the vibe and results are night and day!
Easier said than done. Teams usually don’t pull the trigger until the deadline nears. Teams want to milk all avenues before they go for it.
dezpoo , “slap in the face”, really?
Lacob and MJD aimed to make a huge upgrade at one position while keeping the rest intact. Going “all in” upgrades one position while giving up other capability.
Give Lacob and MJD credit for not “going all in” on Paul George and/or Lauri Markkanen this past summer. If they had, not only would we have had underperforming and overpaid starters, but a bleak future to look forward to.
And everyone guaranteeing Butler wasn’t worth the relatively modest price paid for him is delusional.
If you get a relatively healthy Butler on his best behavior, it’s going to be worth it. If you get a hurt, overpaid, and diva Butler it’s not going to be worth it. That’s just the reality of things.
But given the Warriors position prior, it made sense to take such a swing. Even with some caveats (shooting, defense), no one available had the upside to move the needle as much as he could. Just have to keep your fingers crossed for the next two plus years.
A lot of the conversation around GS fans/people talking about Jimmy seems like they’re surprised for some reason, and it’s really dumbfounding for me…like, I see him as an elite 2 way player
@formerlyz , here’s an explanation for your surprise that Dubs fans don’t seem to know about Butler:
We’re on the West Coast, so we’re much less likely to see the Heat play on television, including in the playoffs. So, to judge the trade, folks looked at Butlers’s stats, incorrectly assuming that those told the whole story.
That’s also why you had so many GSW folks, even some in the media, arguing that Butler isn’t better than Wiggins. That immediately changed after they saw Butler play.
Maybe some of that praise you see in the media is driven by Steph Curry. He says Butler is making every possession easier. Teams can’t double or triple team Curry anymore. Butler has drawn defenders to him, and getting fouled. Against the Bucks, he 15 FT, making 12. That is unworldly for the Warriors this season. He is doing this while barely knowing any of the offense. Draymond is coaching him on the floor about where he needs to be. As he gets in shape, and learns the offense, the stretch run could get pretty interesting for the Warriors.
Davey J is right about something. Wiggins is a good player, not great, a solid career. But, he has lived up to the #1 pick status.
Giants74 said:
> But, he has lived up to the #1 pick status.
I have a bridge to sell you.
Wiggins always needs time to build chemistry and get into a rhythm…
Not surprised at all… He’s got all the reasons to have the fire to find his All Star form again now that he’s on a competent organisation that sends primadonnas packing…
You don’t follow basketball much. It took him 7 seasons to find his “All-Star form”, in a Warriors uniform. The Warriors stood behind the past 2 seasons while he was dealing with his father. Sure, he can become an All-Star again. But, it wasn’t the Warriors that held him back.
I was surprised Orlando didn’t consider trading for Jimmy, b/c they had the pieces and the assets to do it straight up, and they would have been really, really good
Wiggins said all the right stuff for sure, but I didn’t really believe him
Aristotle. I made a typo. Oops. If you read the 1st sentence, you would have noticed that I wrote that he was a good player, not great. Clearly I meant to say that he has “not” lived up to the #1 pick. Yes, sadly, I have not reached your superior heights.
Giants74, thanks for letting me know that was a typo.
Frankly, after reading several knowledgeable Dubs posters here argue that Wiggins was as good or better than Butler, that Wiggins was a legitimate #2 to Steph, etc, etc, it didn’t surprise me to see another knowledgeable Dubs poster (such as yourself) say what you did about Wiggins.
Andrew Wiggins seems to have impressed a lot of Dubs fans to a degree that shocks me.